Mary, Mary fairly contrary, how does yourb garden grow?

Hello. I must begin with an apology for not posting for some time. No excuses really I have just been fairly busy. Starting with my views from the kitchen window. Some garlic which I hope will survive the winter and some some winter flowering pansies.

I must thank the two lovely Sandis for their awards recently given to me. First Sandi at "The Nostalgia Fairy "for her "You make me smile" award. The other Sandi at "Holding Patterns" for her two awards, "Community Bloggers" and "Christmas Spirit". Many thanks to both of you I'm sure I don't deserve either as I have been such a bad blogger of late. However the Christmas Spirit one did inspire me to write a little about Christmas.

Christmas has always been a special time for my family, always a time when we would get together whenever we could. For the last 42 Christmas I have always worked some part of the holiday. People didn't stop being ill 'cus it was Christmas and rotas needed to be filled. We opened presents when we could, ate dinner when we could and visited family when we could. I've bought presents and filled Christmas stockings for patients as well as children. I've driven to work for a twelve hour night shift on Christmas Eve and Day seeing families through their open curtains having fun and wished so hard it could have been me. Well this year it will be me!!!!!!!. I have time to plan , shop, clean, decorate, cook, laugh, play games and entertain!!! I even have some cash to do this as finally, having been retired for 6 months the hospital where I worked have paid me the pack pay from a pay rise some three years ago. Thats some surprise! So bring it on. In some preparation I have made, with a little help from Sarah, yes Christmas cakes and puddings!!

Sarah and I also went to an Autumn fair and look at the things I got for a whole 50pence ($1)!!

I love the little swan pin cushion. The others are going to go in a hanging thingy I'm making. I'll show you when finished. Sarah got some real bargains but I'll make her blog about them.

Now for the dining room. We have almost finished. The carpet went down last Friday. The new table and chairs should be here by early next week but all else is done. Here are some pics.First are the curtains and the wall colour. Its actually a green rather than the blue it looks here.

Some decanters but most sadly lacking in alcohol! (did you drink it all Sarah?)

Whoops forgot the candles!

As you can see we are getting there and it has given me great oportunity to clear the clutter. When furniture is in I will post a pic of whole room and try to get the wall colour right. I'm not good with a camera so may get Sarah to do for me.
I'm still going to my once a week craft lessons. I have one pic of something I made which is decent enough to show you all. But its only been 4 weeks and I'm hoping to improve!!! Yes folks its a bookmark.

Well I must be away to do some dreaded housework as I want to go shopping later to buy some vests as I am really feeling the cold this year!! Apparently Marks and Spencers have some nice lacy ones!! I cannot miss the Strictly Come Dancing programme thats on at 6.30 each evening. I'm addicted to this programme!! Love it! Will catch up with my blog reading soon. Enjoy Halloween!!

Getting better and happy with new fireplace

I'm back today covered in a light coating of brick dust and plaster as is the whole house. Here are some more photos of the recent Spanish trip. This was the view from the appartment balcony overlooking the Med and out to Gib. and the north African coast. If you click on it you may just be able to see them in the distance.In the garden was a pomegranate tree and the fruit were lovely.

Under the lemon tree is where I sheltered from the noon day sun ( oh and picked the odd ripe one for the 6pm gin and tonics!)

Here is a view of one of the main streets in Mijas. Lots of tourist shops but you can't get away from them wherever you go. Now onto the saga of the dining room . This seems to have dragged on for months. We had choosen the fireplace before I went away and it was finally fitted last Friday. We also had our new heating radiators done last week, and this is why the whole house is covered in a film of dust. I've cleaned and cleaned again but the dust is still there. Here is the hole in the chimney where the central heating boiler was removed ...

And here is the new one. Well new to us but it is a vintage one. It still has its original tiles.

We had a visit to the Laura Ashley sale on Sunday and got 50% off the new lamp for this room. Green is going to feature as a colour here.

Today the plasterer has been and replastered the whole of the room. This will take several days to dry and then we can paint. So finally on the home straight. This will be good as there are bits and pieces all over the house that belong in there and it will be so good to get sorted. This has to be done before the begining of November as that dreaded "C" word is getting even closer and I expect people will expect me to do more for it this year now I am retired!!!

Husband and I have recovered from the lurgy that we had. The weather has been kind to us (except this am when it rained) so we have been able to get in the garden. Pictures of the things I'm growing in next post.

I have experienced summer!

I have to start by thanking the lovely Susan, Mrs Random Blethers, for her fantastic gifts she sent to me for guessing her middle name (which shall not be repeated here). They arrived whilst I was away and my photography does not do them justice. First there is a needlecase. Here is the front... Here is the inside..

Then these beautiful stitched pictures..

They are so well made and I shall frame the pictures and use the needlecase. Many thanks Susan.

We had a fantastic time in Mijas. This is a place up the hills not far from Marbella. Very quiet and a wonderful view over the Med. The weather was great indeed warm, proper sunshine. It was wonderful to meet up with so many friends and indeed make new ones. Kay, who had come all the way from OZ, had also been sewing. When we first started we wore yellow uniforms to mark us out as the new kids, so that no one expected anything much from us. To everyone we were known as the "Daffodil Girls". Kay remembered this and made us a reminder of those far off days.

Wasn't that great of her. We were all touched when she gave them to us all. A lot of talking was done and some red wine, gin and tonic and sangria was drunk!!! I made some new friends of the feline kind. A mother and its kitten.

They were so cute. They belonged to someone but took up residence with us for a few hours every day.

The appartment was good with a lovely garden and fantastic views of the Med and Gibralter. Much time was spent on the balcony and in the shade of the lemon tree when it got very warm.
View of the garden....

View of the balcony...

More photos with next post. Hope everyone is well. I have had the dreaded lurgy and spent 4 days with little voice and am still coughing. Husband is also laid low. He isn't eating much so I know he is ill. I will try to catch up with you all this week and will post before and after pics of my new fireplace, which is being fitted on Friday.

Ladies that lunch (but in Spain)

Hello all. You may be wondering why I am off to Spain without the husband. Well 42 years ago on the 6th September 1965 I started my nurse training with 30 other 18 year olds. Picture this fairly shy,dumpy girl fresh out of Convent school leaving home to live in "THE NURSES HOME" with regulation black stockings and black lace up shoes in tow. If tights existed then they would have been too expensive for me to buy. The stockings had seams up the back and always had to be straight.

So I arrive to be met by the lady who ran the training school and my fellow colleagues. I was the ugly duckling. There was a tall very glamerous blonde Pauline, and a much travelled daughter of a British diplomat Val, who had travelled the world, and all seemed so much more glam and wordly wide that I did.

It was like being in boarding school with lots of studying and hard graft on the wards thrown in.You had to be in by 10pm and could have one late pass to 10.30pm one evening a week.I spent most of my time off, we worked a 44 hour week when I first started, either in the bath soaking my poor aching feet or asleep.!!! The first year was the hardest when I was always in trouble and hated it. I spent hours crying, but couldn't go home and say can't do this as my mother did not want me do do it and would have had no sympathy. With the help and support of all my friends I eventually settled down and became a state registered nurse in November 1968.

Nursing became a way of life and eventually a long career. This is me taken circa 1971 when I was first a sister on an intensive care unit.

Over the years I came to realise that it was a honour to be able to care for so many people at a time when they were vulnerable, in pain and frightened. I hope I did a good job. My friends have been with me , if not in person,then in spirit all this time. We are all 60 this year and so we are off to Spain to celebrate in style!!They too have all nursed over this period in time and 2 still are. Val married a Canadian and moved to Canada in 1972. I have seen her twice since then. But on Sunday along with Pauline, Pip, Carolyn, Hilary,Kay and Viv she and I will be raising a glass or two. We have to remember two members of our group who are no longer with us and all the others who are out of touch or cannot come.

So to all have a happy and healthy week and I will catch up when I return.

"If reading be the food of love read on"

Today I must first thank Sandi at http://Holding Patterns.blogspot.com/ for her generous award of " You lift me up". She has been having some painful treatment but still retains an amazing sense of humour throughout. Sandi lives in the USA but spent some time in UK in late 1970s. She is currently writing about her English experiences on her blog. Visit her if you want your day to be brighter as its very funny. So Sandi, sweet peas picked from the garden yesterday. Hope you are feeling brighter today and thanks.

This week has been a week of horrible jobs including wallpaper stripping and uncovering horrors! This is a little part of the dining room. We are still awaiting plumber, to replace radiator, plasterer to make the walls look erm normal, before we can paint. I saw a chandelier Sophie Honeysuckle and thought of you! Now will we or won't we have one??

But now to the reading part. Lots of bloggers have been writing about reading! Angel Jem devoted her blog to the numbers of books she has read. I can't apply the equation, am useless at maths, can I just say a lot for me. Reading has been part of my family for ever. Sarah has so many books she even keeps them in a wardrobe, her clothes..... well she is very untidy! We use our 4th bedroom as a study now and as I write this books are everywhere, yes even in piles on the floor. However I have recently bought 2 lovely books at car boot sales. I am ashamed to say I have never read any Daphne but got this for a bargain £1 so have an autumn read.I also spent another £1 on this old sewing book which hopefully will help me to sew but is also a bit of social history.It has amazing illustrations and was a Christmas gift to Patty in 1945. I wonder what todays girls would make of this for a Christmas gift?

You all know how much I hate ironing and it is now Simon's job. Can't imagine he would want to do it like this though!!

To round off today. Sarah, Sophie and I are having a home made Christmas challenge so sewing is involved. I am patchworking with squares for someone ( not them ) and Dougal decided he would try and help!! Hope everyone is keeping well. I'm off to sunny Spain on Sunday but more about that before I go!!!!

Happier Days

Today we are going to be happy.I got some advice about washing the eiderdown that I bought about 2 years ago. It was always a bit "mucky" and I wasn't sure whether it would wash. Thanks to the advice from jessica daisy I washed it at 30 degrees and tumble dried it and then gave it a very good shake and it looks about 10 shades lighter. Thanks Jess it has a new lease of life. This is its close up and below is the whole thing. This is for all of you that love eiderdowns!!!

Sarah bought the October edition of Country Homes and Interiors and low and behold the dinning table, chairs and dresser that we have ordered are featured on the front cover. Hope they look as good in our room when they arrive. We are off tomorrow to order a new fire for this room. We have seen some cast iron vintage ones which I love but I want to be sure as they are so expensive and don't want to make a mistake.

On a different note I enrolled for a day school course for 10 weeks to do some basic craft things. I am really looking foward to it and all the others there were so enthusiastic I'm sure it will be fun.

Meanwhile I'll leave you with the 2 boys Dougal and Hamish keeping each other company!! Many thanks to all of you for your good wishes following Lucy's death.

Sunshine and sad news

We have been in the country for 2 days getting some fresh air and picking these lovelies. When we returned yesterday it was to find that Lucy had become very unwell again. The daughters had taken her back to the Vet who found her to be very dehydrated. Despite syringing rehydration fluids into her she became very distressed today, with very rapid breathing. Simon and Sarah took her back to the Vet whilst Sophie and I said our goodbyes to her. The Vet said her lungs were full of fluid and on his advice we had her put to sleep. We couldn't let her suffer any more and the vet thought she had a tumour in her abdomen as well as her thyroid problems. We have buried her in one of her favourite spots under a bush, where she used to lie to cool off after her sunbathing sessions.

I know I need to thank some of you for awards but I will do later in the week.