Spread your wings and fly away

Greyhounds are notorious for having really bad teeth. Apparently this has something to do with the soft almost liquid food, they are usually given to eat, particularly while they are training.

Laddie, our grey is no different. We adopted him when he was about 3 and his teeth were quite bad then. Numerous trips to the doggie dentist and they have told us to clean them, but Greys don't like you to clean their teeth. He eats on one side when he has bones or dental chews, so one side is beginning to look ok, while the other side of his mouth is still quite bad. It doesn't seem to bother him though, he has his yearly check up and comes away happy in the knowledge that no one is trying to pull his teeth out. Don't go to near though, his breath would put you to sleep it is that bad lol

I was thinking about how much it costs to be a responsible dog owner. Apart from the food, the little treats you give them etc, the vets fees are quite expensive. Both of my dogs are due to have their annual boosters today which will include not only their usual injections but kennel cough booster as well. For this I can expect to pay the sum of £130 and I will have to get some flea drops as well so add another £39 to that cost. Then as we are going away, the cost of the kennels, which this year has gone up due to the kennels where they stay having refurbished all the kennels and extended them so they have to pay for it all somehow. Still I don't mind this so much as I like to think they are being well looked after while we are away. It took an age finding the right one.

Kennels vary from very good to bad here. We went to one where the smell was so overwhelming it almost knocked you out. The kennels weren't very big so it would have been very cramped for two dogs who must stay together (they fret if one is out of the other's sight for too long). Then there was the one that the owners wouldn't let us look round unless we made an appointment. I am sorry but I don't agree with that I like to see warts and all, not what you want us to see. Where we have booked them into, we went up there unannounced and were shown around immediately, we were allowed to ask any questions (and did) and they answered well, the staff care about the animals they are looking after, they are surrounded by fields and woods and they have bathing facilities if your dog gets muddy and will groom him for you so he is nice and clean when he goes home. There is no kennel smell on them when we pick them up which is a bonus as well. So in my opinion worth the cost.

Our previous dog never went in kennels, he went on holiday with us, but then again we never left the country really. One of our dogs now gets car sick so we tend not to take them away with us, well we can't take themt o Florida anyway lol

On the subject of cost of things, why is suncream so expensive. It is a necessity yet you have to pay the earth for a reasonable make. I keep looking out for special offers and tend to buy it then but it is still on the expensive side!

Right I am off now have to get showered and ready to see the doggy doctor!!

Ladies that lunch sums up my day nicely today. Met up with a couple of colleagues from work and sat in the garden of this hostelry, which is about 10 mins away in lovely countryside, eating, chatting and drinking soft drinks (we know how to live) putting the world to rights.

Despite lathering myself with factor 50+ I have still managed to burn a little which I am not impressed with. My arms are a sickly brown colour with bits of red in between!

Came home and set to updating my list and making sure that I had ordered a few items, paid a couple of bills and transferred some money over so that I can pay for the dogs annual injections and kennel cough boosters ( more money to pay out!!)

Not much else to say really. Hope you all had a good day

hugs xxx

Keep this philosophy in mind the next time you hear, or are about to repeat, a rumor.

In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom. One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance that ran up to him excitedly and said, 'Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?'

'Wait a moment,' Socrates replied. 'Before you tell me, I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Test of Three.'

'Test of Three?'

'That's correct,' Socrates continued. 'Before you talk to me about my student, let's take a moment to test what you're going to say. The first test is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?'

'No,' the man replied, 'actually I just heard about it.'

'All right,' said Socrates. 'So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second test, the test of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?'

'No, to the contrary...'

'So,' Socrates continued, 'you want to tell me something bad about him even though you're not certain it's true?'

The man shrugged, a little embarrassed. Socrates continued, 'You may still pass though because there is a third test, the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?'

'No, not really.'

'Well,' concluded Socrates, 'if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?'

The man was defeated and ashamed, and said no more. This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.

It also explains why Socrates never found out that Plato was banging his wife.

Todays dinner, Chicken and mushroom pie, mashed potato and peas.

I tell my son off for shovelling his food and to eat slowly.

"Can't help it" he says "Your dinners are always so delicious I can't wait till I eat the next thing"

"All the more reason to savour it then" says I , "you should chew slowly and leisurley"

Hubby pipes up "Yes, like i do, I like a nice slow leisurely pee"

I have never been very good at writing poetry, but came across this as I was trying to file some papers away. It isn't brilliant, but it is something I wrote several years ago, when I was probably at my lowest

What do you see when you look at me?
Do you see the makeup, that hide the blemishes
Or a woman who is pretty
Do you see the lines on my face
Or do you see the laughter on my face
Do you see the lines around my eyes
Or do you see the shine in my eyes
Tell me what do you see?

What do you see when you look at me?
Do you hear the laughter that lights up my face
Or do you just hear a noise that you hate
Do you see a woman with personality
Or a woman with something to hide
Do you see a confident woman
Or someone with low self esteem
Tell me what do you see?

What do you see when you look at me?
Do you see a woman well dressed
Or a woman with no clothes sense
Do you see my arms as ones that will hug you
Or do you just see the flab
Do you see a mother of two children
Or do you see someone who is fat
Tell me what do you see?

What do you see when you look at me?
Do you see a good listener
Or am I not worthy of your thoughts
Do you value my opinions
Or am I someone of no consequence
Do you want to know me
Or do you want to ignore me?
Tell me what do you see?

I wasn't going to write about my day so far, but then I sat here and thought what the heck, if people find it boring they don't have to read it, and so I am!

You see it is a bit like that today.

Yesterday hubby came home quite shaken up and not in the best of moods. As he was driving down the road the brakes seized up on his van. Pulling over on a wing and a prayer, he checked it all out and the brakes started working again, so he started to make his way home. As he came of the motorway the brakes seized up again, nothing happened when he pressed on them and so he drove the rest of the way (10mins from motorway to home) holding the handbrake and using that to stop. Thankfully he arrived home safely, without doing any damage to himself or anyone else.

He phoned the office and they agreed to lend him a van, which is great but the office is quite a journey away, in Enfield. So this morning, when the alarm went off, I had to drag my weary body out of bed so that we could be on the road by 7am to drop him of at the office so he could pick up the van. The journey takes about an hour on a good day, if you are caught in the roadworks on the M1 or the M25 is at one of its usual go slows then the journey will take you an extra half and hour.

So off we went, I had less than a quarter of a tank of petrol, and most of that was used up on the journey there, so he gave me some money to get some.

Arriving at the office where he presents various documents he needed to produce and sort out paperwork etc, he collects the keys to the van and then proceeds to tell me how to get home. I knew how I was going to get home, my main concern was getting petrol, and anyway I thought I would pop in and see mum as she lives about 30 mins away from the office, but no Nig, bless his heart, told me at least 3 different ways to get back to the M25. In the end I smiled at him, said goodbye and headed towards Potters Bar to get petrol.

Two petrol stations in and around Potters Bar, one is being redeveloped, the other had no Unleaded petrol. So saw a sign pointing me to Barnet so headed that way through lovely country roads and eventually getting to the M25. Ah thought I, pop onto the motorway and get off at Watford except I didn't get as far as Watford. Had to get off at St Albans as the petrol light started to flash!

Now anyone that knows me well knows that in unfamiliar places, not that St Albans is but where I got off at, I have no sense of direction. So here you see me driving down roads which I thought I recognised and thought I knew there were petrol stations along it, but alas no, not the road I thought I was on. After about 20 mins with the needle being on the minimum amount of red and a petrol light flashing like crazy I saw signs to Radlett. I know Radlett well. I also know there is a petrol station there, but I must have panicked at some point because I kept following these signs but it didn't seem to be getting any nearer. I did find some shops though so pulled over and asked for directions to the nearest garage, which some kind person showed me, and yes, there I was at the garage in Radlett, pulling in and thanking my guardian Angel for getting me there safely.

Now with a filled up car, decided to proceed to my mothers, only to come out of the garage heading in the wrong direction, only noticing this when I saw the sign to St. Albans again (did I mention my awful sense of direction?) but undetterred I turned around and happily made my way to mums for a well earned cup of Tea.

Now I am in my own home thankful that I don't have to go out again - just as well really that I like driving

I hope things are well with you hun, where ever you are.

You Are Basil

You are quite popular and loved by post people. You have a mild temperament, but your style is definitely distinctive. You are sweet, attractive, and you often smell good.

Which I managed to get posted with the help of AJ's site here

This letter was sent to the principal's office after the school had sponsored a luncheon for the elderly.

An old lady received a new radio at the lunch as a door prize and was writing to say thank you.

This story is a credit to all humankind. Forward to anyone you know who might need a lift today.

Dear St Josephs School:

God bless you for the beautiful radio I won at your recent senior citizens luncheon.. I am 84 years old and live at Grove Park , Home for the Aged. All of my family has passed away. I am all alone and I want to thank you for your kindness to an old forgotten lady. My roommate is 95 and has always had her own radio; but before I received one, she would never let me listen to hers, even when she was napping.

The other day her radio fell off the nightstand and broke into a lot of pieces. It was awful and she was in tears.

She asked if she could listen to mine, and I told her to f**off.

Thank you for that opportunity.

Sincerely,

Edna

Thank you for all your replies to my last post. Despite my cable box and computer saying that I was connected, it seems that my service provider ( who shall remain nameless but is owned by a well known dyslexic millionaire) was actually being worked on several miles away from me but for some reason always affects my connection!!

Anyway I am back now and have had to log into all my groups where usually I am automatically logged on.

Sometimes you just wonder why you bother don't you lol

I have tried to read several bog posts today but Firefox is obviously being affected by the warm weather as it keeps coming up with the message:

Firefox can't find the server at (insert blog name)

Not very helpful really, perhaps it should try harder

.......no more

This Victorian Pier in Weston Super mere was destroyed by fire this morning. Firefighters are still continuing to battle with the flames which can be seen for miles around the area.

The Grand Pier at Weston-super-Mare was one of the last of the great seaside piers to be built. It was opened in 1904 to complement the Birnbeck Pier in Somerset and to cope with the huge numbers of people that would descend in Weston, during the summer months.

In its early years there was a 2,000 seat pavillion where oper, music hall, ballet and boxing was performed. Unfortuntely the pavillion was destroyed by fire in 1930 and did not re-open until 1933 when a funfair replaced the theatre.

The entrance to the pier was redeveloped to provide shops and amusements in 1970 and in 1974 the pier was granted Grade II listed status.

A bowling alley, a two storey funhouse and a Ferris wheel were added in 1993. More recent additions have included an indoor go kart track and a climbing wall.

Quite sad really to see yet another pier in our country, destroyed by fire.

Got up

Drank some tea

Thinking about breakfast

Shall I shower first?

what will I wear today?

Must do some housework.

These tablets are making me swell.

I usually swell when it is hot, I have a fair amount of fluid retention that drinking lots of water hasn't manage to dispel desite being told it would help. I swell naturally when I have PMT just one of those things we women put up with every month.

However yesterday it was so bad I had to remove my wedding ring. My fingers resemble pork sausages at the moment and the ring was feeling very tight. This is the first time I have had to remove it in 18 years. I feel naked as a result! It is depressing me - why? At the end of the day, it is just a symbol, a symbol we are married. Nigel never wears his, mind you having seen his brother dangle out of a loft because he caught his ring on a nail and nearly had his finger removed I can understand why Nig doesnt' wear his, especially in the trade he is in. But I feel as though part of me is missing. I feel sad.

Hoping the swelling goes down when I stop taking the tablets, only a few more days to go and then I can put my ring back on again. In the meantime I will keep drinking that dammed water!

today I have felt like a fat imp.

Didn't stop me from putting on a pair of shorts and a strappy top though as it is so hot and humid today.

I am sorry to say it was far too hot to sit out in for me, mainly as no one had put the sun shade up (cos they can't remember what they have done with it!) Will have to have a look tommorrow.

So today I have sat here, planning my holiday, chatting, and catching up with my to do lists.

Still so much to do!!

right better crack on, nothing will get done if I sit here will it.

Right where is that suduko puzzle I was doing earlier?

Hugs xx

Every week hubby gets his wages paid into his account.

Every week we take a trip into town so he can transfer some of that money into our household account. (dont ask why we don't do it via internet, something Abbey won't let us do for some reason)

Every week, I work out what bills get paid that week, pay those that aren't on direct debit already, write everything down in my little book and at the end of the week balance the books.

This way I know what we have in the account at any one time.

I like to get ahead of myself, so, due to our impending holiday, I have made sure all direct debits are covered up until the 1st of September. This leaves me two weeks money that I make sure September's mortgage is paid and any unforseen circumstances are covered.

Just as well I did this, because I have just filled out my little book, made sure all bills are up to date (except the catalogue which I will deal with tomorrow as I pay it from my account) and I have just realised that the TV licence is due!

EEK!

Right will now have to replan the bill situation and juggle the books a little lol

Today, for the first time, I tried my first bottle of Bulmers Cider. I am not usually a cider drinker. I know what I like, cider I do, depending on what it is.

Hubby had a bottle with me - now he is a strongbow drinker as it reminds him of scrumpy and trips to Devon sees us bringing home lots of scrumpy to be consummed.

So there we are having a Bulmers.

"Nice isn't it?" says I thinking how smooth it was, how nice it was to drink in this warm weather.

"No, don't like it, its not strongbow" he says.

No kidding! That is why it says Bulmers on the label!!

......................................................................

We have just sat and watched, as a family, The National Geographic channel, watching these two in the Long way down, where they travel on their bikes from John O'Groats to Cape town in Africa. It was something that we got watching earlier in the week and the children decided that we hadn't had a family viewing for a while, and decided they would like to watch this from 4pm till 9 this evening.

Family viewings usually are marathon sessions of tv or DVD watching, where I buy lots of finger/buffet food which is laid out on the table to help yourself, a few drinks for hubby and I (hence the Bulmers cider) and we sit and watch whatever the kids decide we have to watch. Sometimes we might play a board game instead, but usually it involves tv or dvd watching.

Now I can hear sharp intakes of breath at this, all I can say is it is rare we all sit down and watch the same programme. We all have very different tastes, so to watch something we can all enjoy is quite rare and the last couple of times we have done this, it has usually been a documentary style programme which we can discuss afterwards. So tonight's discussion has been on how places like the Sudan and Ethiopia are portrayed on news items and how we think of them -starving children, people being killed etc. This programme showed us a different side, people being friendly and welcoming, how they live etc. Of course having someone like Ewan McGregor and being filmed may have shown why it is different but it was interesting and the scenery in some of the places they went through was stunning.

Hubby and eldest son are now watching a programme about pyramids now, youngest having retired to his bed. I will not long be out of mine it has been a hot day
.......................................................................

The weather has been glorious here, though it is very muggy now, almost like a storm is on its way. The air needs to be cleared a little bit so I hope it happens tonight and is nice again tomorrow. I love seeing the sun, makes one feel so much happier.

So how was your day then

Ok here goes

I use Outlook Express as my email client (against my better judgement)

Everything has been going fine so far, however, over the last couple of weeks whenever I send a message to someone it comes through their end about 6-7 times! I only send it the once! It is getting very annoying now.

I have scanned all emails and the computer for viruses and trojan horses etc etc and nothing shows up.

Any ideas?

Oh ISP is Virgin Media btw, blaming them at the moment lol

Men you don't need to read any further especially if you are of a sensitive nature

I have been to the chemist to pick up my tablets that I have on prescription. I had asked my doctor, a while ago, if I could delay my period for the duration of my holiday, and have decided that as I don't want to be taking tablets while away I will delay the period due this month instead.

Just read that leaflet that comes in the box they insist upon putting in with the tablets and it has, quite honestly, scared the life out of me.

There is a huge long lists of complications. there is a huge list of things you might suffer from while taking the tablets. There is a huge long list of do's and don'ts and none of them are particularly pleasant.

However, researching the internet further, I know there are a lot of people who take these tablets so they can't do me that much harm.

Or can they?

We shall see (as she takes her first tablet with a glass of water, washing it down with tea )

Yes it is Thursday, the second day of my holiday and disaster has struck already.

The television has died!

Oh dear, no music channel blaring its noise into the living room

No crappy children's programmes to watch

Making the most of this silence by making them do something constructive today.

Actually they have been given cleaning cloths and told to clean the bathroom and their bedrooms lol

Who said I was cruel and uncaring lol

I made it back there! Took youngest to feed the ducks and took lots of photos, some of which have made it on here lol
View from the Bridge

Weeping

Peek a boo

Standing on one leg

Grooming Time

Follow the leader......

....To the Food!

Where has your father got to now?

Ah there he is hiding from his responsibilities again

Do you mind if I eat?

Yes Freedom has arrived with two bottles of wine and a box of chocolates, to see me on my way for the holidays.

Spent today backing boards and sorting out cupboards, filling in paperwork and having a buffet lunch. Then out of them doors at 3.30 to enjoy the holidays - six weeks of not having to get up when the alarm goes off, being able to turn over in bed, reclaim hubby's side and sleep - bliss.

course there is a mountain of ironing to tackle, a house that needs to be cleaned from top to bottom, a holiday to get packing for and a social 'Ladies who do lunch' day that has been organised between myself and two other TAs.

Ain't life grand.

All I need now is decent weather, but having just perused the weather channels, it isn't looking that hopeful!

Ah well I am free and that is all that counts

Have a very happy birthday hun

Hugs xxxx

Have a wonderful birthday hun

Hugs xxxxxx

Well today, session number two at the gym, this time I take my son along with me for his first session.

Need I say that he complained about how much his legs hurt as he moved from machine to machine? The only one I had problems with, strangely enough, was the bike. I think this had a lot to do with my batteries running out on my MP3 player, so found it a bit boring to be honest. My legs hurt a little but apparently not as much as son's do - who is now, by the way, lounging on the sofa in a "I am dying" pose!! - give me strength!

Hubby is playing some weird game on the playstation while I play on here for a little while sipping some port. I am feeling a little tired due to not coming home until 1am this morning following our trip out to the bowling and then onto a couple of pubs for an enjoyable evening. And it was enjoyable, good company, good drink and not waking up with a hangover which is even better!

The weather has been mixed today, sunshine and clouds. Only two days of work to go then the summer holidays have arrived. I tentatively mentioned to eldest son about going bowling next week and perhaps having a day at the park, I got a grunt so not sure if that was a "Yes mum I am really looking forward to spending time with you and my lovely younger brother" or a "For goodness sake I am 16 and really do not want to be seen with mum and a really annoying little brother!" I suspect the latter though he wasn't too bothered about being seen with me while he was flexing his muscles at the gym earlier - oh yes of course, forgot, silly me, he can't get there unless I am the taxi can he lol

xx

Our usual Saturday morning trip into town, saw us wolfing down breakfast in Debenhams as we were both very hungry. Nigel's legs hurt from his efforts at showing of exercise yesterday, where he ran on the treadmill rather than do the power walking at an incline as I was doing.

Mind you my legs hurt this morning as well

Anyway back to Debenhams, they have a sale and it was very busy. However saw this lovely dress made by Red Herring of which there was only one left and was in my size! After I tried it on, and made sure it looked ok, I just had to purchase it.

Was very tempted to pop into Monsoon and have a look at their sale items but decided I had spent enough, there isn't much left in my account at the moment, roll on payday

Out tonight bowling with the quiz group, dinner afterwards in Weatherspoons then off to look at the talent in the local bar - as they say you can window sop just don't touch the goods lol

Right better get off and do something constructive, don't know what yet lol!

Have a good day xx