Cornish Beach Brummie

Problems with PC and therefore Blog

2010-02-04T08:00:00.001Z

I've been having problems with my blog and PC, as you will have found out if you tried to log and on check out the lastest news in the last few days.

In an effort to fix it, I locked it to visitors whilst I played around. Needless to say this did not work.

I have emailed all of my followers through contact folllower, and explained what is going on, however I'm not sure if this email arrived to anyone, because of the problems I am having.

I have generated a brand new email address and added it to my profile. Please contact me by clicking on this link, to advise if you can:

a) still see my blog

b) received my email (which may have gone straight to spam - please check)

c) did not get my email originally
d) not able to post a comment

I would like to confirm that this was not a virus on my PC/Laptop, and responding will not affect your own PC in any way

I look foward to hearing from you soon

Thank You Jordiegirl

2010-01-22T09:00:00.006Z

Oh My - I can't believe how NORMAL I feel today!

The tablets finally kicked in, and I only feel my internal stitches if I happen to try and do something silly - and as you all know me I can't help doing silly things!

Anyway, I am sat in my recliner, laptop on lap, with the help of my little laptop table that Sally-Ann and Mike bought me for my birthday, and have been checking out some of the latest blogs updated on my blog-roll.

As you can see from the title of this post, I have been inspired. and as such, have created a new blog to showcase some of the cards that I have made over the years.

http://www.cardcraftbyjo.blogspot.com/

I have started with Kelly's Birthday card, and Dylan's Godson card, and will slowly upload some of my past works.

Please feel free to follow me on the other blog. Your comments on my creations would be very welcome, as this will steer me towards using some designs again and again if they are liked.

I have been card making for many years, and as such, will only select perhaps some of my favourites to date, but from now on will add pictures as I create a card.

On The Up

2010-01-21T11:15:00.006Z

Tuesday did not quite go as planned.

I ended up on the phone to the Doctor at 08.20, and after various discussions it was decided that she would get someone out to check up on me.

The Doc turned up at 12.30 and after a good old poke and prod of the belly and back, confirmed that I have a bladder and kidney infection and needed more antibiotics. What I was told though, was that I had done entirely the right thing over the weekend, as if I had not done the cystitis remedies my kidneys would be protesting in pain far more than they were a the moment. Unfortunately, the kidney pain in my back, falls right behind where the appendix was in the front, and I had no idea if I had new pain or old, I just knew something was not at all right.

Mel popped around see me later in the afternoon, and filled me with gossip of the Pilate's classes I had been missing out on since just before Christmas, and how quiet it was without me - MOI! Little old me! Anyone would think I was loud, giggly and chatty LOL!

Mel, also bought me the biggest bunch of grapes she could find along with the entire dutch crop of Tulips. I have to say the Tulips are glorious and the grapes so sweet and moreish - good choice Mel.

It was so lovely to see her, and catch up.

Not long after Mel left me, Sharon and Chris arrived, and once again filled me in on the gossip from work. It seems there are some changes taking place, and I really can't wait to get back so I can get my teeth into the new workload that will be generated from the changes. Is that sad? I don't think so, I really miss my friends in the office, who have been such a huge support to me in the last 10 days or so since this began.

Anyway, yesterday, Wednesday, I decided that I would attempt some light sweeping in the living room. Fred is a loving dog, but OMG so mucky. He will go outside, and kick the mud with his back paws like any terrier, then run inside, all excited and fling great clods of earth everywhere. Needless to say I could look at it from my chair no longer, and had a go at cleaning it up. BAD IDEA! I ended up sat down again a few moments later, able to feel every internal stitch and lazered area in my belly.

So, consequently, today, Thursday, although I feel a lot better in myself, and the lessening pains in my belly allow me to sit for a longer period of time (albeit in a recliner chair) than I have up until now, I have decided to finally start listening to everyone and take it easy for another week or so.... after all it's been about 10 days since my op and they said 3-4 weeks recovery time, even pushing it to 6 weeks for certain things like exercise.

I am supposed to be in Birmingham this weekend, becoming Godmother to little Dylan. I finally had to concede that this was not going to happen as sitting upright in a car for 5 hours plus on the journey would just about finish me off. Kelly has managed to arrange for me to be Godmother by proxy and her mom has spoken to the Priest and organised it all - I am so relieved, but more gutted than you would think possible, to be missing out on such a special day.

We shall be getting together with Kel, Paul and Dylan once I am well for a nice celebratory meal, and although it's not the same it will be lovely to see them and spend time with them again.

It is Kels' birthday today, and I made her card, along with Dylan's Godchild card and Paul posted them up to Brum along with some gifts, and once I know she has received and opened them, I shall post pictures of the cards and how I made them.

I know that things are getting better now, and am feeling far more positive than I have until now, primarily because I seemed to get one thing after another on top of the double op. As the additional infections and problems are bought under control I am feeling far more cheery, and can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Onwards and Upwards...

Until the next time my dear friends

Progress So Far

2010-01-18T19:16:00.004Z

I have had so very many well wishes sent to me from my friends and bloggers.

Although sitting at home means you have no real news to tell, I thought I would at least let you all know how I am doing health wise.

Friday, was well, Black to say the least. Poor Lorna did a great job of consoling my wilting spirits, as you will already have read in my previous post. To say that things could not possibly get any worse would have been an understatement!

Unfortunately on Saturday and Sunday, this is exactly what did happen. For any of you ladies out there who have been on huge doses of antibiotics you will know that there are a couple of problems that you can acquire as an after effect of how they take their toll on your body.

Being polite, if that is possible, I shall just say two words. Nether Regions! With any luck you will know what I mean and I won't get my blog shut down for indecency, LOL!

Anyway, to begin with I thought I was just imagining it, as I was still very conscious of not being able to sit, bend, lift (even a kettle) and many other normal, take it for granted movements, because of the belly pain I had, caused by my surgeries.

As I was 'imagining' it, I asked a poor unsuspecting Paul to go out to buy my best bud a birthday present. This is the birthday present I had planned to buy the previous weekend, until I got rushed into hospital.

Paul looked at me as if I was a martian talking a strange language - what do I get he said.... I had that part sorted! I went online and printed off pictures of what I wanted, and where to go to get them. Once he was there, he just texted pictures for me to approve or disapprove. OK, not an ideal situation, and Paul was using a few choice words, but because of who it was for, he was happy to do it, bless him.

When he returned home he had even bought me a little PJ set with matching slippers so that I had enough sets to change each day into a fresh set without worrying - Bless!

All this time, please don't forget, he came off nights the previous day and was absolutely k'naggered (translation - very tired LOL).

By late afternoon, I sent poor Paul off again, this time to Tesco to buy me the first of my required remedies for the old water works. Off he trotted, no problem. He called me from Tesco to see if I would like the cranberry or lemon flavoured treatment - lemon of course - I hate cranberry, and then came back with said medication.

Sunday morning came round and I soon decided that I needed the next of the medication of the other rather delicate problem. Again he went off, without batting an eyelid, and returned a short while later, with exactly what I needed.

All this while I was unsure if I could use part of the 2nd box of tricks due to the surgeries, so eventually, after much persuasion from many friends, I called NHS Direct and spoke to a really nice male nurse.

Apart from being very thorough about my medical history, he also gave me some sound advise, but pretty much confirmed that everything Paul had bought me was the right way to go, and it was all OK to use together, including the bit I was the most unsure of.

And so that's it - my weekend in a nutshell. I attempted to do a bit of walking round on Saturday and that put me back to bed for the day Sunday.

The upside to all of this? I've lost 5lb. Woo Hoo! OK not a way you want to lose weight, but there has to be a bright side to any situation, don't you think?

So today is Monday, and although I have been dressed today, and sat under a duvet in the lounge, I can only get into joggers and look a right sight because of the swollen belly. I have a few visitors 'booked' in for tomorrow and am hoping that things are on the up.

Until next time dear friends

999, Doctor, Doctor, ER - HELP!

2010-01-16T18:17:00.009Z

To all of my loyal readers I apologise for my absence. And to everyone who has sent me well wishes, cards and gifts I thank you with all my heart.

Despite pain and being drugged to the eyeballs, a blogger is always a blogger, so I managed to get some pictures. I even thought of the consequences of showing peoples faces etc, so what you will see is, well, me! Looking quite frankly crap!

So this is what happened.

The snow outside had continued to fall for a couple of days and hence I could no longer use my beloved MX-5 Betty Blue to get to work. It was now down to shank's pony (that's by foot to anyone who needs it translated LOL).

Friday the 8th came around and I trudged into work, arriving on time and did my full shift. However, after I had returned to lunch I was suddenly doubled over with pain, and laughed it off with the girls as women's stuff - as you do!

An hour later Paul collected me for the end of my shift, so that I didn't have to walk home again - thank god for Paul! As soon as I got home I doubled up again and went to bed with a hot water bottle.

I got home at about 2.15pm, but by 19.30 I was crying in pain and begging Paul to take me to the local medical drop in centre that was open until 8pm.

I threw on a pair of joggers and a jog top, pulled my water bottle to my belly and got in the car. It's OK I thought - coupla tablets and I'll be right as reign.

Having fallen through the doors of the drop in centre and burst into tears on the receptionist, I was being seen by the on call doctor that was there.

Needless to say, I had no handbag, no money, no keys, nothing, nada, zip with me. Despite this I was booked a bed in hospital and sent directly there, no stopping, no messing!

This was not going according to plan - I was only supposed to be out 5 minutes - not 5 days!

By this time it was 20.30 and I was on a ward and in my bed. The consultant and his #1 sidekick came to see me, and were very concerned, considering my history that I may have a burst ovary, if not it was my appendix. I needed a scan. You shall have one first thing tomorrow he said meanwhile we will give you any drug you desire.... well no actually he didn't say that, but I was very happy with the huge bolus of morphine that I received directly into my arm - after that everything was lovely Ha Ha!

They kept me drugged on oromorph all night to help the pain, and I took the opportunity whilst I could to get a glimpse of the snow outside the window. A few minutes later they came to take me for my ultra sound scan.

Chappy decided that my ovaries we OK - relief! But could also find no problem with my appendix - it could be low lying and out of view he said - typical nothing normal for me eh!

Anyway - here I am looking thoroughly miserable , and more to the point morphed up, as I await for the consultant to make a decision from the ultra sound slides he was to receive.

I did not sleep at all well on the Saturday night - probably too many drugs, or not enough, but I wanted to hear the end of the nurses conversation about ghosts and missed is as someone pulled their call button!

My IV became my point of interest at this point LOL.

I was taken to surgery at 11.30am on Sunday morning, and did not return to the ward until just gone 15.30pm. It was a long surgery.

It seems that along with my appendix going bad, (which they removed for me), I also had about a hundred adhesion's (endometriosos) that needed lazering and cauterising. This came as a huge shock to me, as I had only had surgery in April 2007 to remove a dozen or so and thought that was all over.

The long and short of it is that it was a triple whammy! URTI (urinary tract infection that I knew nothing about), appendix bursting and endometriosis adhesion's.

All I can say is that I am so glad my appendix burst as the adhesion's would have taken a long long time to diagnose and have done, just like they did last time.

The doctors were fantastic - I did actually keep telling them this however, and I was actually scoring them out of 1o - to their faces - I even married one off and told him he was so handsome in normal clothes and it was a damn shame he was single. OUTRAGEOUS I KNOW! but how many times do I have to tell you I WAS MORPHED UP!!!

Anyway, they released me on Tuesday afternoon, and Paul's Dad picked me up, as he happened to be in the same block for a appointment himself. I was never so glad to see anyone in my life and gave him such a big hug.

The whole while I had been inside we were on lock down to the Noro Virus outbreak the week before, so only patients were allowed inside the hospital. My friends were wonderful and kept me going with phone calls and texts though.

Wednesday evening Sharon and Chris arrived to see me - and I have to apologise for the state of how I looked, PJ's, unwashed hair, duvet pillows and generally not a welcoming sight for them, but they bought me two bunches of gorgeous roses in pinks and yellows, and Chris had me laughing albeit is very painfully, for the short while they visited me.

Sally-Ann and Mike also visited that day, and I have since received these lovely orchids from them, along with my favourite coffee cake, which will come out once I have an appetite again.

Thursday and Friday have been black!

I spent all day Friday crying, and after a visit from my friend Lorna, who happens to be a nurse, she made me feel better, and confirmed it was normal as I had had quite a traumatic few days, been drugged out of my eyeballs, had general anaesthetic, and been through effectively 2 very painful procedures all at once.

I feel awful but I asked some friends that wanted to visit on Friday and over the weekend that I was not up to it - I'm really sorry guys, but honestly you would not have wanted to see me!

Meanwhile.....

All this time.... Poor Paul had been on nights and was trying to hold it all together - one thing is for sure though, Fred loves his Daddy even more now and won't leave his side - after all Mommy left him for the best part of a week!

Apologises

2010-01-08T21:29:00.000Z

I am in hospital, but shall return with the details soon x

An Ode For Miss Frugal

2010-01-02T18:41:00.006Z

This one is totally for my new bloggy friend Miss Frugal.

I discovered her blog only yesterday, after following one of the links from another lady I follow regularly. The post I saw was for a lovely recipe for Chocolate Cinnamon Cake, and I just had to have a go at making it.

If you click on Miss Frugals name above you can go directly to her post for the recipe, and a look around her lovely blog, but if you want to get right down to the chocolate cake experience here is the recipe again for you

Chocolate Cinnamon Cake

175g butter
175g brown sugar
200g self raising flour
3 eggs
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
60ml milk
Chocolate spread

• Pre-heat the oven to 180 c.
• Grease and line a 8 inch round cake tin.
• Put the butter, sugar, flour, eggs, cinnamon, baking powder and milk into mixing bowl and mix until smooth and creamy.
• Tip about half of the mixture into your baking tin and then spoon four or five blobs of chocolate spread on top of it.
• Put the rest of your mix into the baking tray and smooth it out.
• Use the skinny end of your spoon and swirl the mixture around a bit.
• Smooth it out again.
• Put the cake in the oven for about an hour or until the cake is springy to the touch

As you can see from the pictures, it was really really easy to make. I would say a total of about 7-10 minutes prep/mix time and then up to an hour in the oven depending on it's fierceness.

(Yes that is my laptop you can see - I needed to follow the recipe from Miss Frugal Blog!)

The best and I suppose only good bit of not having any children is that I get to lick the spoons - YUM!
and this is how my cake came out of the oven 40 minutes later...
it had risen beautifully and got a lovely deep brown colour to it.

When it had finally cooled enough to eat it, we cut a slice each and squirted some cream next to it and got stuck in. By droppping dollops of choccy spread into the mix pre cooking, you have a lotto as to whether you get a gorgeous mouthful of squidgy lovliness in your slice.... mmmm

We have to say that we decided it was far nicer without the cream, and I even think that a thin layer of the left over chocolate spread over the top as an icing may be a good idea, but it was so light and delicious that it will certainly be on my cooking agenda again.

Thank you Miss Frugal x

Unexpected Day Out

2010-01-02T16:39:00.005Z

Whilst just coming around from our lazy morning, the telephone rang. It was Sally-Ann to see if we wanted to join them, Pam and the boys, Jamie, Phill and Simon, in a trip to Falmouth and a little sneaky treat of something nice at the boat club.

Well, I said, I'm about the go the Tesco to do the weeks shopping...... give me 5 minutes and we'll be ready. Oh now come on! Falmouth. Tesco. No brainer really is it!

Jamie pulled up a few minutes later with a car full of excited explorers, and we followed them over to Falmouth and parked up.

The main order of the day..... A cuppa and a giant toasted tea cake at the boat club. The weather was fantastic, with blue skies and the boats tinkled away in their moorings looking back at us as we ate.

Once our bodies were fully charged again, Phill, Simon, Sally-Ann and I left the rest of them and headed off to our favourite store for a mooch. Trago didn't get much business today from us, as the sale prices are only in play on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, but at least we got a chance to do a pre rekkie to decide if the journey was worth a 2nd trip in one week.

We rejoined the rest of the gang a little later and decided to head off to Pendennis Point for the obligatory ice-cream. Yes it is freezing cold but it has to be done OK!

Having enjoyed our ice creams, we made arrangements to go to the beach with the dogs tomorrow, and then we headed off home for the shopping list and the trip to Tesco that we had been putting off.

What a lovely morning, and a great start to 2010.

Happy 2010

2010-01-01T00:01:00.003Z

A Little Tear...

2009-12-31T13:28:00.008Z

Maybe it's the fact that another year is coming to an end, I don't know, but for the past few weeks all I have done is think about my Dad and how much I need a hug from him. :-(

Last night I found tears running down my face, for no reason, except that I was thinking of him.

In February it will be 10 years since I lost him, and it just seems like yesterday sometimes.

I'm thinking about you Dad, and love you as much now, as I always have.... x

A Horse, My Kingdom For A Horse!

2009-12-26T17:07:00.008Z

After a muddy walk up the hillside, we arrived on the top of the Carn, and positioned ourselves, where we could see the horses and riders as they met, before their Boxing Day ride across the countryside.

Then it was a quick dash into the shadow of the castle so that we could avoid the sudden downpour of heavy rain.

As the clouds crossed over us and passed into he distance, Fred and Milo spotted each other and caught up on their doggy gossip...

Meanwhile the riders drank their warming drinks, and chatted amongst themselves, whilst the hounds came amongst the crowd for some welcome fuss.

We were amazed by how clear the skies had become, and realised that we could actually see further than we ever had before from this spot.

Once we had wandered back down to the village again, we drove back for a welcome cuppa and a nice bit of cake and cream.

A very civilised day indeed!

Christmas Day 2009

2009-12-25T22:00:00.000Z

After an early start, where we watched Fred play with his new 'bear' toy that he got from Hamish, and bury his jumbone from his Nanny in the fabric covers of the sofa, we headed on over to see Jannah Beth, Mel and Denise.

We had a lovely time over there, and managed to actually get JB to open a couple of presents - she is the only teenager I know who can limit herself to one gift opening per hour!

Then it was back home to collect Fred and head on over to Portreath for our usual Christmas Day stroll on the beach.

He and Hamish had a grand time, and even met a little miniature Schnauzer named Milo, who was only 15 weeks old. They all made friends instantly.

They were also the only ones with tinsel on their collars.... amazing, last year all the dogs on the beach were wearing something Christmassy

It was a beautiful day, and certainly much warmer than last year.

It was then home and a little snoozette on the sofa before cooking the turkey dinner for our evening meal.

YUM!

Christmas Eve...

2009-12-24T23:00:00.001Z

It started out as quite a strange Christmas Eve.

I got into work for 7am, an hour earlier than normal, so that I could help Alison to clear the wages admin, and ensure that payroll went through on time. As it turns out, there was no need as she had arrived about 15 minutes before me, and was well into clearing it all.

It was then a really bitty morning, with typing up various reports and getting as many cups of tea down us as possible!

I arrived home only about 5 minutes before Paul, who suggested we pop over to the Hospital to visit his Dad, who we had heard had been taken in the previous evening.

We had an hour over there with him, and met up with Dee and Jannah just as we left, who promised to let us know what was going on, as he may have to stay in until Boxing Day.

Then it was off home to cook dinner, as we had Sally-Ann, Mike and Hamish coming over.

The dogs were angels, despite my Fred wanting to go out every 5 minutes!

Hamish enjoyed some love off of him Mom, whilst poor Mike looked on, in the dim and little light that he could cope with behind his shades.

We had a lovely evening, and enjoyed some big laughs watching Victoria Wood's Christmas Show, and revelling in the iconic song that we all remembered from her 90's show.

Then it was time for Paul to drive them back home, and as he picked his phone up, he noticed a text from Jannah..... Their Dad was home, as the doctors had managed to get all the introvenus antibiotics in that they wanted to.

At least he could enjoy his Christmas Day in his own home.

Afternoon Beach Romp

2009-12-22T16:30:00.000Z

The weather was so good today, that I called Sally-Ann to see if they fancied a walk on the beach after I finished work.

The dogs got very excited to see each other again, and went racing off, following each other, where one sniffed , so did the other, where one pee'd so did the other (yep you heard correctly LOL)

We stopped at the end of the beach, by our rock and took some pictures of our glorious afternoon

and then proceeded to follow the boys back, all the time gossiping away like mad, to catch up on the last few weeks worth of stories!

A lovely afternoon, of gossip and exercise!

Have a Sparkly Christmas Everyone

2009-12-21T18:40:00.001Z

Strictly Come Dancing 2009

2009-12-19T22:00:00.004Z

The best season so far, and it's gotta be said that tonight's final was a very tight run thing..... Did I enjoy it? Did I ever!

I stood and cheered as Chris and Ola were crowned the SCD Winners for 2009. Their Charleston was THE dance the season, if not of all 7 seasons! If you don't believe me, see for yourself - you can watch it here

Well done Team Cola

Sharon's Christmas Cake Recipe

2009-12-18T09:24:00.004Z

I just received this recipe from my friend, and it sounded so scrummy, I thought I'd share....

Christmas Cake recipe!!

Ingredients:

* 2 cups flour

* 1 stick butter

* 1 cup of water

* 1 tsp baking soda

* 1 cup of sugar

* 1 tsp salt

* 1 cup of brown sugar

* Lemon juice

* 4 large eggs

* Nuts

* 2 bottles of wine

* 2 cups of dried fruit

Sample the wine to check quality.

Take a large bowl, check the wine again.

To be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.
Repeat.
Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar.
Beat again.
At this point it's best to make sure the wine is still OK. Try another cup... Just in case.
Turn off the mixerer thingy.
Break 2 eggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
Pick the frigging fruit up off floor.
Mix on the turner.
If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver.
Sample the wine to check for tonsisticity.
Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something.
Check the wine. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.. Add one table.
Add a spoon of sugar, or some fink. Whatever you can find.
Greash the oven.
Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over.
Don't forget to beat off the turner.
Finally, throw the bowl through the window.
Finish the wine and wipe counter with the cat.
Go to Tesco and buy cake.
Bingle Jells!

Tis the season to feel rubbish!.....

2009-12-18T08:54:00.002Z

Sorry for the big blank pause bloggers, but I have been, and still am, full of a really nasty cold (does a womens cold translate to flu in man speak) since Tuesday, and finally gave up whilst at work on Wednesday, and came home to bed, which is where I am posting this from in between the wretching over the conveniently placed bin!

Needless to say I will have to go back a few days to tell you about our works Christmas Party on Saturday evening, as my brain has been so full of nasty things that I have not been able to think straight to be able to show what a great time we had.

So sit back and scroll down, for the party photo's and story. x

Penmere Perfection...

2009-12-12T23:59:00.008Z

Although I've not mentioned any details on my blog up until now, I have been working diligently behind the scenes since the beginning of September, to organise a Christmas Dinner Dance party night for my favourite work friends and I.

I am a huge fan of Christmas and can't get enough of the whole love, joy and being with friends at this time of year. Unfortunately the meaning of Christmas seems to have got more and more diluted over the years, and even since I was a child things have become more and more commercial.

Christmas to me in 2009 is being able to spend some time with my favourite people, and not necessarily the giving of gifts.... that's not to say that I have not been out and bought gifts, so don't panic too much dearies, but to know that I can get a hug of a BFF is more than enough for me.

Anyway, I digress. The Christmas Party Night.... In the past we have just booked a meal at the local carvery and turned up 15 minutes before, chomped down the chow, and headed off home after an hour and half.

This year I had plans for glitter, dancing and being able to spend time with aforementioned BFF's.

We did the whole Yell.com search for decent hotels within a 20 to 30 minute drive of all of our homes, and I contacted them for details of party nights if any, and the menu's they were offering.

We narrowed it down to 3 hotels, and then, finally, down to the Penmere Manor in Falmouth. The girls on their reception were so very helpful, and offered details for any questions, swiftly and concisely by return email. So this was the hotel we booked.

Having arranged the Burns Night for the 5 owners club back in January, I had a fair idea as to how to make things easier, both for the hotel and myself.

I generated food order forms for each person, so that I could advise the hotel of the orders in advance, as they had requested, and having made everyone part with their deposit, I headed over to the hotel one afternoon, to pay up and give them the menu choices.

As the hotel was offering a very very reduced bedroom rate for anyone attending a party night, I had promised to check one out and report back. OMG the hotel, bedroom and event room was gorgeous. An old 18th century manor house, with a gym, sauna, jacuzzi, indoor and outdoor swimming pool, and all situated in beautiful beautiful grounds.

Needless to say I booked a room for Liza, who had asked me to keep it quiet from her other half, and also for us. We originally were not going to stop, as we have had an awful lot of expenditure recently and this would just be an indulgence, but hey, I could not turn this opportunity down. It was a chance for Fred to stop in a posh hotel for only £8..... I could not possibly deny my poor little doggy this could I, LOL.

I knew that having ordered their meals so far in advance, that no-one would remember what they wanted, and so, I made little name cards for the table, and inside I inserted a label with their menu choice, therefore alleviating the need for my big red folder containing all of my information and co-ordination details.

The next question was how was I to do this. Give them the place card on arrival and let it be every man for himself to the table, or place them ready on the table so that all they had to do was arrive and sit.

One afternoon, in the office, it was decided that we would pull names from a hat to decide where to place people. I started with Alison and her husband David in the middle of the table and worked out from them. I wanted to ensure that they had a good spot, as Alison has had a pretty grot year with recovering from all of her chemo etc.

Finally, we arrived at a seating plan, with partners opposite each other, and now all that was needed was to panic that the meal and hotel would meet expectations.... I have to say I was pretty stressed over it all, as this was out of my hands and I could do no more to make it a great night for us.

Out of 16 people attending our little gathering, 10 of us were stopping at the hotel for the night, and I felt very responsible for the fact that they had all spent a lot of money, and I just wanted it to go well.

I needn't have panicked. Everyone arrived at the allotted time, and we had a few drinks in the bar, while I took each couple off to one of the lovely side rooms for a special photo to commemorate the evening. Bless them all for agreeing to this. They know that I am a camera maniac, and they also know that it will all end up on here, but what good sports they all were!

Then I had a huge SHOCK!

I turned around and Alison was stood there with the most beautiful, and huge bouquet of flowers, and they were for me! WHY? Because I had done all of the organising of the evening they said, and they wanted to show their appreciation! How I did not cry on the spot I'll never know.... talk about unexpected!

Not long after this shocker, we headed off to our table, which I managed to snap before we destroyed it

After the most divine meal ever, the dance floor seemed far too empty, so we helped out a little, as you do!

A thoroughly enjoyable evening was had by all, and the following Monday, as they all started to arrive at work, it was all we could talk about.

We emailed Sally at the Hotel to say what a fab time we had had, and then booked again for December 2010.

A wonderful evening - What was I worrying about? LOL!

Paul's Pain

2009-12-07T20:30:00.001Z

Paul was still in immense pain this morning when we awoke, so I told him that I would be calling Nigel to book him in for some realignment.

Nigel is the Osteopath that comes to our work to ensure that people are kept fit and not having to take un-necessary time off with pain that could be prevented if treated immediately.

He has been qualified for 30 years and really knows his stuff. I know, as he has treated my back on a number of occasions, and always reduces the pain to zero in one visit, despite it being a chronic problem that I have had for a number of years.

We drove down to St Ives for a 6.30 appointment, and Nigel welcomed us with open arms.

He took some medical histories from Paul who explained that this was an injury that had happened about 6 years ago, but had reared it's head after doing some heavy lifting at work recently.

He then did some basic tests - reflex, cardiac, blood pressure (which was a little high), and a few other things to give him an idea if everything was as it should be.

Then the hard work began. Nigel began to manipulate, pull and push various part of Paul's back, arms, legs and buttocks, with a few ow's coming from Paul's mouth and a few 'Was that you? LOL' comments from Nigel.

Finally, he pronounces that the results were the best they could be for the severity of his injury, but that he will be sore tomorrow.

We booked him in for next Monday for, hopefully, a final realignment, and paid Nigel the reduced price that he had given us as a friends and family discount.

Paul was amazed, as he already felt loads better.

Of course, all I could say was - "I told you so"

Nigel has wonderful hands!

Battling the Beacon

2009-12-06T14:00:00.004Z

OK - so today's title is a little dramatic, but hey - those winds were gale force, and we really did have to battle against them to get to the top of St Agnes Beacon!

Once we started on up the hillside, we realised that, not one of us was as fit as we should be! Sally-Ann has a bad back, my hip is still very painful, Mikes eyes are very sore and hidden behind sunglasses still, and Paul damaged his back at work, so I need to book him in with the wonderful Nigel and his Magic Hands.... (that's the osteopath from work for those of you who are new to my blog!)

the walk up the hillside was well worth it for the views we were getting

and once at the top Fred stopped to admire were we had come from, despite the wind flattening his hair to his head, bless him!

Paul and Mike braved standing still long enough for a picture

then it was time to head back down, this time on the other side of the hill, so were were actually able to breath for a while against the wind, which had taken out breath from us on the way up

The four boys went on ahead, whilst Sally-Ann and I took a few long shots of the distant rainbow, that you can just make out to the off centre right of the below picture

We had a lovely walk that really blew the cobwebs away, and even better, the heavens didn't open til we got back to the car!

OMG Is This It???

2009-12-05T16:42:00.002Z

MENOPAUSE!

Having walked the length and breadth of Truro in the cold and rain, why is it that I was seriously overheating?

Even my poor husband, who always has to put up with me having the heating on, as I am notoriously a cold bunny, had his coat and hat on, and admitted to not being very warm.

I plodded around town in a top made of t-shirt fabric, albeit with long sleeves, and a scarf around my neck. I carried my coat as I just could not cope with the heat!

Up until this last fortnight, I have only overheated during the night, but every morning this last couple of weeks, I have arrived at work and opened all of the windows - good job I start before the rest of them, by the time they arrive, I've usually managed to regulate my temperature and then go back to feeling the cold as usual!

If this is it, let it move on fast - PLEASE!

The Good Life ....

2009-11-28T18:00:00.004Z

Today we got the keys to our new toy - the chap who sold it to us included loads of equipment so there is pretty much nothing that we need to buy, despite what we thought when we first got the idea to do this.

Of course no caravan would be complete without a cocktail bar - and ours lights us when you open the cabinet door! We really are in the sitcom now - just call us Margot and Jerry! LOL

I'll be the one wearing a floating green caftan and Paul will be in the burgundy velour evening jacket LOL We even got the glasses included! Shame the bottle of gin didn't get left too Ha Ha

The curtain are pink velour (mmmm nice!) and will clash with Paul's evening jacket, but hey ho this is camping so anything goes don't you think?The large yellow thing on the floor is the awning
which should be good fun trying to put up the first time!

Here's me pre caftan mode lounging in my new holiday abode

and here we both are auditioning for the Good Life re-runs - what do you mean Not Posh Enough for Margot and Jerry's part??? Are you kidding - we are caravanners now - Total Class Ha Ha !!!

Before and After....

2009-11-28T11:23:00.002Z

Right! So this bundle of mud and fur is what we have had to put up with for the past few weeks!

Yes he's a little cutie, and yes he knows to get on the towel after being in the mud patch that is our garden, but he really really smells! Auntie Helen like to clip him with a dirty coat, so he has to stay dirty by hook or by crook!

Hooray! this morning he got his cut and is pulling every little trick to show us he is still the little cutie he has always been LOL

Bless him - little does he know that the bath is calling his name now that the excess coat has gone!

Perhaps tomorrow though, after all, he has had a very exhausting day today!

Carpe Diem - Sieze The Day!

2009-11-24T20:30:00.000Z

OK - so the static caravan has not sold yet, and we have no money in any hidden back up pots of gold - we live to full a life to be able to save LOL, however this was a bargain that we just could not say no to!

Having emailed Sally-Ann to see if she fancied a trip to Truro this avo, as I had some Christmas presents, and Dee's birthday pressie to buy, she suggested popping along to see this van, that they had spotted that very same morning!

(This is not actually the van, it was too dark to take a decent photo, but it will give you the idea)

The chap who owns it at the moment has already replaced it with a newer version and had to sell fast or incur double costs, so we managed to get it for a real bargain, a lot lower that we ever thought we would get a van for, and it included a brand new awning, new tyres, the electric hook up cables, all the anti snake towing equipment and the aqua roll water barrel, along with loads of other stuff I just cannot remember!

The inside is immaculate, and has new stainless steel splash backs in the kitchen area.

It even has the more expensive cassette loo so that you have non of that horrid blue fluid to dispose of that I remember so 'fondly' from my childhood!

And so, despite the lack of funds, it was decided in about 5 minutes flat that this was a chance that we just could not miss. If we waited until the static sold we would not find anything so cheap or in such good condition again.

Hence - Carpe Diem!

We have been able to get a pitch in a secure compound that has security cameras and someone on site 24/7 and it will cost us a fraction of the annual running costs of our BAH. Bonus!

Meanwhile, with a little help from some fantastic friends the cost of the van is covered temporarily for us.

Along with same fantastic friends, we shall await the spring weather and do a little test run to Dartmoor for a long weekend to try it out - I think it will be a whole new learning curve in driving for Paul, but he is looking forward to the challenge.

And NO - we shall not be the bain of Jeremy Clarkson's life, and drive 15 miles per hour on the motorway whilst towing it - it won't go as far as the motorway! It will however, give us the opportunity to explore Somerset, Devon and Cornwall to it's max

We Can't Wait!

Well done to the dynamic duo for such a fab find, and for making it happen for us x

A Gok'ing Great Day!

2009-11-21T19:30:00.003Z

Gok Wan has a lot to answer for, if you ask me!

For the last 2 or 3 weekends there have been repeats of Gok's shows on E4 - Not only How to Look Good Naked, but also Gok's Fashion Fix.....

Now, not only is Gok THE bloke you want with you whilst you are shopping, but he also speaks a great deal of sense, and certainly makes a girl feel more attractive, even if it's not you that it actually being Gok'd so to speak.

Anyway, to get on with the story.....

Having been watching all of his programmes I decided a few changes were needed - not only does very little in my wardrobe fit any more, but what does fit is about 18 months, two years plus old and worn and washed to death....

I started off small - knickers! - yep they virtually all ended up in the bin and I started all over again with sparkling new pieces that actually fit me, and not leave me with a huge muffin top of fat that did not quite make the tiny expanse of fabric that was there!

Once this was done, I was starting to get it! Gok is right - only a few key pieces are needed for your wardrobe, it's just trying to decide on what and how these pieces can work in your real life.

Two very large bags of clothes, that don't fit, later and my poor wardrobe is pretty bare - so much so that it astounded my poor hubby - enough for him to suggest a shopping trip to get some essentials to tide me over.

A this point it is 8.30 am - if we pull our fingers out, he said, we could get to the railway station and catch a train to Plymouth ( a 2 hour drive away) to see what we can get for me.

Now an offer like this does not get turned down - especially when the credit card was being offered!

Despite the pouring rain, we walked the 20 minutes down the hill towards the train station and managed to catch the 10.30, which would get us in at 12 noon.

We had a lovely stress free ride into Plymouth (our first visit there too) and walked on over from the train station to Drakes Circus the big shopping mall.

It all started to well - the sedate train ride the stack upon stack of lovely shops and a credit card at my disposal..... two hours later I had still not spent a single bean! I think it's been so long since I have needed to do a serious clothes shop that I have forgotten how to do it!

At 2pm we gave up and headed up to the restaurant in House of Fraser to grab some well deserved lunch, and to review the situation.

After Lunch, and deciding on a few pieces that both Paul and I liked, we headed back to good old M&S for a trying on session.

Success - some casual trousers and four tops were purchased.

All I need now is a new pair of jeans and a couple of jumpers for the winter and I'm all set.

Despite the frustrations of the day, and taking so long to get into the groove, we had a smashing day, and better still Paul got to close his eyes for a bit on the journey home - not something you would want to do if you were driving!

Thanks Paul - I had a great day, and I've probably got the best hubby in the world for offering to do this for me!

City of Lights Spectacular

2009-11-18T23:00:00.005Z

Tonight we headed on into Truro, with our friend Alison to watch the festival of lanterns - which I thought was going to be school kiddies, singing Christmas hymns and carrying paper lanterns - ow wrong I was!
The paper lanterns were incredible - with mermaids, elephants, horses, storms in teacups, pirate ships - all huge and completely amazing....

I started taking photo's and couldn't stop - unfortunately I've only added about 20 of the 60 odd that I took, but I had to show how wonderful the parade was!

This storm in a teacup was really inspired!

After the main parade it was time for the Christmas lights to be switched on

After this the parade headed off towards Lemon Quay, so we headed towards the cathedral as we knew it would all end there.

We were really lucky - the tree lights had been switched on as a test, so we were able to get some crafty shots of them without loads of people

We took the chance to get a picture together, Alison seemed to think she looked like a little gnome - lucky her - I'm the marshmallow man from Ghostbusters!

We headed off to grab a coffee at the nearby Thornton's and when we got back, all of the 'animals' were around the Christmas tree, so we had a chance to get up close and personal with them

This horse was incredible, the puppeteer got the head movements perfectly

but my favourite was the Elephant - so lovely

Having seen all that we could we headed back to grab the bus back to the park and ride. The queue was long..... 3/4 mile long! However, everyone was in good spirits after such a nice night, and the bus drivers played a blinder, and I don't think we waited any longer that 20 minutes.

A fantastic night - the organisers should be congratulated!

Gothic Gastronomy in The Castle

2009-11-13T23:00:00.000Z

It was a dark and stormy night.

The wind was at gale force and the rain lashing down so hard it bounced off the floor as it hit and reached back up into the heavens.

And we were booked at the Carn Brea Castle Restaurant, one of the highest points in Cornwall, to go for a meal with friends.

As we arrived, the wind whipped around our bodies, trying to carry us away with it, but we were having none of that! We were here to enjoy an unusual night out, and were really looking forward to it.

After trying our camera's on just about every setting, Alison and I finally managed to get a couple of great, moody shots of the Castle from our parking spot just below it..... this is to be our haven and eatery for the evening.

We were welcomed by Mr Sawahla, the owner and our host for the evening, and walked up some winding steps, dripping with rain water that had seeped through the granite walls, adding to the atmosphere.

There is no electricity in this most unusual restaurant, everything is lit by candle, making for a really fantastic atmosphere, especially with the increasing wind and rain outside.

Again, us girlies fiddled with our camera settings and found a suitable one to give us nice bright pictures, and did the compulsory couples posing pictures....

Firstly Alison and Paul...

and then Paul and I....

Mr Sawahla took our food orders, cranked up the Jordonian music and pulled out his traditional drum, and began tapping away to the music.....

The rhythm was great and got us all clapping along and wondering how on earth such a huge noise came from such a small piece of kit

It was then our turn, and it slowly got passed around for us all to have a go, some of us with better results than others

Paul, having stated that he didn't think he could do it, actually got really into it and looks a treat with his big cheeky smiles.....

I thought I'd have to fight him for my go LOL

It was great fun

Our meals arrived, and were amazing - Alison and I had the Jordonian spiced Lamb kebabs on a bed of rice with yoghurt dip and salad...... It was nothing like we expected (ie basically cubes of meat on skewers) it was actually about 8 lamb steaks on the bone marinated in spice - I've never eaten so much meat in one meal in my life!

The boys had steaks - once cooked in a whisky marinate, the other in a pomegranate sauce.

We followed all of this up with a plate of baklava - loads of little sample pieces for us to all pick at.

Absolutely fantastic.

Well worth a visit, and we will certainly be going again - YUM!

In Rememberance....

2009-11-08T11:00:00.000Z

They shall not grow old as we who are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them..

Who's a Lucky Boy Then?

2009-11-04T15:15:00.001Z

My friend Mandy was clearing out some of her Mum's cupboards and came across some old towels. They were going to go in the bin, until I said Fred might be able to make use of them!

As you can see, he even managed a smile for the camera LOL - and now he has 3 lovely bright towels to use after his splish splash bath or muddy walks...

Bless him, it was just like Christmas for him - he even opened the bag himself!

Woof Woof - Thanks Aunty Mandy, Lick, Kiss!

Happy Birthday Sally-Ann

2009-11-03T23:14:00.001Z

It's Sally-Ann's birthday today, and we had all decided to go out for a meal to celebrate. We booked a table at the Crab-Picker in Portreath, and arrived all suited and booted, ready for a good meal and relaxing time with friends....

Sally-Ann sat pride of place at the head of the table, with Paul next to her....

then Mel, who tried desperately not to have her picture taken...

then Mike and the other end, followed by me and Ricky...

Yes! I know there is no picture of me.... I was holding the camera!

Another lovely evening, concluded with our friends, as we tried to work out how soon the next birthday was so we could do it all over again!

That Pesky Psoas....

2009-11-01T16:41:00.004Z

Since I started going to Pilate's back at the end of April, my awful back pain has subsided and I no longer have to see a chiropractor/osteopath every 4 weeks or so.

In fact since April, I have only had to visit him twice, this is most definitely a great testament to the wonders of Pilate's, and the very knowledgeable Mel, who teaches us.

Anyway, to get to my story.... as you are all aware (from my profile info) I am the proud owner of a flashy crystal blue sports car called Betty Blue.... she is beautiful and spends most of her life with her lid down so that my unruly locks can feel the wind, and become even more tangled than they normally are!

In an effort to ensure that she stays beautiful, Betty gets garaged at the end of each and every outing. Unfortunately, because of all of the accumulated possibly useful in the future' stuff' we have acquired over the past 2 and 1/2 years, it has become increasingly difficult to open Betty's door, once in the garage, to exit her lovely sleek little profile.

After one such outing, I parked a little nearer to the wall and 'stuff' than normal and only lefty about a 2 inch gap to climb out of her, and PING! upon twisting my leg into the available gap my Hip Flexor (Psoas Muscle) popped and then...... PAIN!

and O M G what PAIN! - this was back in July.

Mel got our her anatomy charts and showed me what the muscle was and how it could affect my movement, and suggested some lovely stretching moves that would help with the release of the muscle and aid it's repair.

God Bless Mel!

Anyway, to cut a long story short, the pain is still there, and since our initial decision of the cause, we have decided that due to the length of time it is taking to heal, and the areas of movement that have been affected, that some of the 'attached bits' (no that's not the technical term) got torn - this means a long drawn out process of healing.

Meanwhile, Mel, being the complete anatomical genius that she is, has given me yet more moves to help release this pesky Psoas Muscle, some of which are the Cat Stretch, Shoulder Bridge, Leg Slide, Side Stretch, Clam, and of course the 'doorbell, letterbox, catflap combo'. There is also this rather awkward looking thing I do lying across a hard foam roller with my legs stretched out - it pulls the Psoas out long and feels fantastic!

One of the bits of information about the Psoas Muscle that Mel found out, is that is affects your mood, and depending on it's state, that's how you are, if it is relaxed and happy so are you - yeah right! - Well you know what? I reckon, having laughed about this, it must actually be true, for the last couple of weeks I have felt totally miserable, and this can only be down to my Psoas feeling miserable too - No Kidding!

I know that it will be a long haul, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and with any luck, my sleepless painful nights will soon be over!

Thanks Mel - without you and Pilates I would have gone do lally tap! Roll on Monday nights class!

Daylight Saving Sunday Afternoon

2009-10-25T19:51:00.004Z

Whilst we were at Asda this avo. I had a text from Sally-Ann to see if we would like to take the boys to the beach at Godrevy, as the tide should give us plenty of beach.

And so we headed on back from Falmouth and picked Fred up, followed by Sally-Ann, Mike and Hamish, and headed over to the National Trust car park by the Godrevy cliffs.

The weather was perfect, and we were thrilled to see all of the seals, and their baby's on the beach below us - I tried counting, got to 76 and gave up, as some of them are out of view from this spot...

such a lovely day, could not go by without an ice-cream, and so with a little arm twisting (not) Mike treated us all to some lovely Cornish ices

and what were the seals doing during all of this indulgence - they were still sunning themselves in the cove!

A lovely afternoon,, but as we drive back home, the downside of daylight savings time hits us - it's 5.30pm and starting to get dark already - Boo!

An Update On My Dilema

2009-10-24T20:00:00.003+01:00

The decision is made....

The static caravan is on the market, despite the ridiculously huge commission that is being asked to sell it for us.

NO - we are not having an RV, we are going for a touring caravan - the one thing I said I would never do, but have been surprisingly amazed by how good they are these days.

Fingers crossed, and I'll keep you all updated, as your comments have been a huge help.

Thanks for the comments, emails and telephone calls x

A Momentus Decision...

2009-10-17T20:00:00.001+01:00

It's time for a break so Friday the 9th October ended with us finishing work at lunchtime and packing up the car with all of our cases and store cupboard foods.

As we head off to our BAH for a few days holiday, we know that this may possibly be the last time.

For the past 4 or 5 weeks we have been discussing the pro's and con's of selling our beautiful 2 bed static caravan, and swapping it for and RV....... Needless to say Paul is very much in favour and has wanted one for many years - I am not so convinced and, just know that my usage of diazapam, just to make a journey, will increase 10 fold. Not a happy thought!

We decided to drive up to Somerset via Exeter, as there is a large Motorhome dealership just off of the M5/A30 changeover junction. Their website revealed many lovely, albeit very old RV's, that would fall into our limited price range.

Upsettingly, once we arrived, it became apparent that the website had not been updated in the last FOREVER as there was nothing on their lot below £23k - more than double the price we are looking at.

We headed on up country towards Somerset with a dark cloud over us as we thought that maybe this would be a very swift change of heart, and we would stay put until we are no longer wanted in our current sited location......

Dilemma: Static caravans are allowed on site for 10 years, then they are considered too old and unattractive and you are asked to either part exchange them for a brand new version costing anything from £23k - £50k, or, alternatively, the site will remove the van and dispose of it for you..... Our van is 7 years old, but we extended out site contract to allow us to stay on site for 15 years......

At present, it is a very attractive holiday home, with inside porch, 2 bedrooms, reasonable sized kitchen, lounge room with TV, DVD, Video (yes I do still live in the dark ages), and Hi-Fi, and a dining area.

Having had a quote on what it would be worth to sell, we were very happy that it was exactly what we expected, meaning we would not lose too much on our initial investment, and that holidays have only cost a minimum for our time on site.

Horror: They will charge us 15% of the sale price to sell it for us!

WHY? we only paid 1.5% when we moved house!

I am now digging my heels in and want to stay put and get the total amount of years out of my BAH, but my friends and hubby suggest that doing this will mean the van depreciates more and will be worth less when we do sell it at a later date.

Yes this makes perfect sense,but I'm a stubborn bird and need to come to a decision myself, and then let them all say "We told you so" later - at the end of the day, I know they are all right, and that the van has to go now, so that we still have money in it to invest in the next holiday option..... It would just be nice, not to be taken advantage of by the holiday park - the money they will take off us, could be a chunk off of our mortgage, instead it means all monies received will have to be reinvested in a holiday home and nothing off of the mortgage..... GGGRRRRR!

We are now home and no further forward - Suggestions please.....

Birthday Meal

2009-10-07T22:00:00.001+01:00

OK, so it's not the greatest picture in the world of me, I'm in my glasses as I cannot wear my contact because of a sore eye and the angle makes me look fatter than I actually am, but this is the dress that Marg and Keith bought me for my birthday, and it's what I wore tonight for my meal out with Paul.

If you double click on the image, you can open it up and will just be able to make out the lovely earrings and necklace that Kelly bought me.

We ended up at Gwel-an-Mor a lovely chalet style restaurant, up on the cliffs in Portreath.

A truly lovely evening, finishing off a great day.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-10-07T14:44:00.007+01:00

Today I'm 41.....

Am I sorry or upset about this? - absolutely not! - my 40th year was probably one of the most eventful years I've had so far, and I'm sure that it will continue into my 41st!

I awoke this morning to a very large present from Sally-Ann and Mike, that I had no idea about, and that Paul had kept very well hidden for them...... I am so thrilled! It was a lap top cushion for my lap so I can watch the tellie and blog to my hearts content, without my trusty little computer overheating - Thanks so much guys x

Paul, knew what I wanted, as for once in my married life I actually knew myself! I wanted a Pandora Bracelet - a new style of charm bracelet which has beads as charms instead of the traditional charms that I know of from my youth.

He bought me the bracelet, 2 clips to hold the charms in place and 2 charms - I chose a 'J' for obvious reasons and also a 'Sun, Moon and Stars' charm.

Karen and Dave have sent me some money so that I can get a couple of charms that I have seen at the silver centre (a starfish and a shell in reverence to my surfing and beach love)

When I arrived at work to spoiling continued. Alison bought me a Westies Calendar and some chocolate:

Then, another Alison arrived with some lovely jewellery for me, that I instantly knew would be a part of my Christmas Party outfit!

Sharon arrived next, and she'd bought me some lovely fluffy turquoise socks (to match my car LOL) a bookmark embroidery for me to do whilst I'm on holiday next week, of westie and scotties (very appropriate as we had a Scottie called Charlie, before we had Fred the Westie), and also from Sharon and Chris, a gift voucher for one of my favourite stores.

When Mandy came in she looked a little pensive and was not sure if she had done the right thing, she said..... I opened my gift to find card blanks and toppers - perfect for an avid crafter like me

and then to top it all, my wonderful friends bought a huge chocolate fudge cake covered in sprinkles - we all tucked into it at mid morning break - YUM!

and from Birmingham... Kelly sent me a parcel in the post - On opening it and just laughed - she knows me sooooo well bless her! It was a triple CD of all 80's music - every track of which I knew and could probably sing every word to(Tragic I know!), and also some beautiful silver earrings and necklace, which I obviously wore to work to show off, along with my bracelet from Paul.

All in all a wonderful day so far, and it's not over yet - we plan on going out for a meal when Paul finishes work tonight.

Thanks to all of my friends and family for such a special day xx

A Look Back over my 40th Year

2009-10-06T15:29:00.006+01:00

As the last day of my 40th year slowly comes to a close, I have been thinking back over the last 12 months and all the things that I have achieved.

I am truly amazed at how living in Cornwall has transformed both me, and my lifestyle.

I have some amazing friends and work colleagues, that I would do anything to help if they asked, and I also know that these same people would be there for me in a heartbeat, if I were to ask.

I have achieved some firsts this year too - I have taken up a new fitness regime in the form of my pilates classes and I have overcome my fear of the sea and taken up body-boarding.

I've even been asked to be a bridesmaid for the first time ever (I know what you are saying - a soon to be 41 year old married bridesmaid is a little unorthodox, but it's for my wonderful cousin Nathan, and his bride to be Fabiana) I shall be wearing baby pink and travelling in a stretch limo (another first)..... all that to come June 2010!

This is the dress that Fabi is planning on putting me in.....

I have heard in the last week about 2 engagements, both of very good friends from Birmingham, and can't wait to see them soon, and wish them loads of love and happiness.

and so, despite the fact that I shall be 41 tomorrow, I feel blessed, for the life around me. The beautiful countryside, the wonderful friends and my gorgeous husband.

Roll on year 41, throw at me what you will - I'm ready!

A Perfect Evening For Body Board Surfing!

2009-09-27T19:00:00.019+01:00

As Adrian goes home in the morning, my final mission for his visit was to get him in the sea - OK so this is the best it got for him - a quick paddle, but I at least had the chance to get in the water and show him how much fun boarding can be!

Mel came down, wetsuit and board at the ready, despite her text saying she may not come in, and we set off into the waves like a couple of Greek goddesses - well little baby seals anyway!

Paul and Ade stood an chatted on the side lines and video's a few little snippets of some of our finest moments - click on the arrow to play each little video clip...

Anyway - after about an hours of shrieks as we managed to ride the waves right up to the shore line, we finally came in and plodded back to the car, and then off home

I think that we managed to fit in a lot of Cornwall for Adrian's first trip, but we have now started planning where we will be going next time

meanwhile, have a safe trip home Ade, x

Falmouth and The Lizard

2009-09-27T16:45:00.000+01:00

This morning we planned to head off to Falmouth for a mooch around the harbour

And a coffee on top of the local pizzeria (because it has the best views from the balcony). Whilst sat there chatting we decided that the Lizard was to be the next destination for Ade, as he had heard of its natural beauty, and wanted to see it first hand.

The weather really was so fantastic, which made the views incredible

We wandered down the hillside to the little natural cove

and posed for some pictures

It's now nearly 4pm and I'm getting seriously edgy as I NEED to get into the water with my board!

We headed on back home, and I text Mel to see if she was up for a bit of boarding.

But first things first..... a nice cup of tea!

A Trip of a Lifetime, A Very Long Walk and a Mine Tour

2009-09-26T22:30:00.000+01:00

When Ade asked if he could come to visit, I said of course, is there anywhere in particular you would like to go whilst you are here?

Well, he said, since I was a boy, I always wanted to go the Lands End, and I've never managed to get there. Sorted! That was today's mission.

We went via St Michael's Mount for the obligatory photo opportunity

Then on to Sennen, where we parked up and walked the coast road all around to Lands End - Ade's requested tour spot.

En-Route Paul spotted one of the ships that had famously been stranded on the rocks

It's a very treacherous coast line

Upon arrival, there were lots of important photo requirements - firstly the first and last house

followed by our picnic lunch - the boys couldn't wait as you can see!

Then the miniature collection

and finally another picture to prove he was actually there!

This afternoon, we had a visit to the King Edward Mine open day

They had set all of the old mining building to smoke, just as they had during their heyday - if you look really closely you can see the smoke from the chimneys

A mooch around the old ruins followed

and then it was inside to inspect the equipment - to be honest, it was all beyond Ade and myself, but Paul was in his element, and was fascinated by the workings of the tools and equipment

A very busy and tiring day, but fun all the same.

Roll on tomorrow!

Adrian's Trip to Cornwall

2009-09-25T22:30:00.002+01:00

Ade's come to visit YAY!

This is the first time since we moved that Ade has managed to get down here, and it's so great to see him. We've been friends for a lot of years, more that I care to remember actually, as it makes me feel very old!

After a well earned cuppa, and a mooch around the house and garden, they took Fred for a little walk whilst I did a necessary trip to Tesco, for vital food stocks. Then it was a tour around our backyard - Portreath beach and Carn Brea Castle and Monument.

The tide was out as far as I have ever seen it, and we were able to walk further than we have for a long time, finally stopping at the outcrop of rocks for a picture

Then it was up Carn Brea and a telephone call to Brenda, his partner. to say what a wonderful view he was looking at - sorry Brenda, perhaps you will get to see it next time

We finally headed home, were we found the lasagne that was in the oven was a little more crispy than we would have liked, but it went down well with the salad and garlic bread, whilst we sat in front of the TV catching up on the Australian soaps (my choice!)

Fred settled down with his mate Ade for a bit of fuss and then it was time for Strictly Come Dancing - What I hear you say - They are blokes - yeah and they may say they weren't watching, but trust me they were LOL

Roll on tomorrow - loads planned, which means loads more to blog...

I'm a Reformed Girl

2009-09-23T17:30:00.002+01:00

Mel asked me a few days ago if I would mind being her guinea pig on her Pilate's Reformer machine. She wants to understand how hard or easy it is to show someone the ropes so to speak and generally see it working on someone first hand, and what muscle groups are used when etc.... personally I think she just wanted to see me trussed up like a chicken!

Anyway, I emailed with her and today was the day that suited our work plans, any anyway, the weather was too rubbish to body board LOL.

She started me off with some simple moves that I am familiar with from the mat work that we do in class, but this time they have the resistance of the bands on the machine to work against. I did not think I would last 2 minutes, but hey anything for a friend!

Then the real work began - I looked more like I was going for a check up at the OB-GYN by the time my feet were stuck in the elastic hooks... I was asked to push my legs out and round like a little froggie jumping off the ground..... after the laughter stopped and I began in earnest, I found it quite a nice move - it works all your butt and thigh (inner and outer) your ankles and calves and just about every other muscle group in the human body no doubt.

One hour rolled into 2, as Mel kept saying I would have liked to try that, but it looks quite hard, and me saying lets just have a go, and if I hurt I'll scream...

I was amazed, I was able to do all that was asked of me, bar one thing I think, which was a seated on the bench, ropes in hands over head and moving the bench by pulling hands in front of me move.... tough, but I think next time I may manage it.

We finished with tea and cakes - OBVIOUSLY - after all that exercise, and a wander around the the local surf shop 5 minutes away to have a mooch. Unfortunately they were closed - the sign On the door said GONE SURFING! Oh well next time eh.

Anyway - all in all a really great afternoon, where I found out that I must now be a lot fitter than before I started my Pilates, as I would not have been able to do any of the moves today, this time last March !

Woo Hoo Fantastic - and it's all down to the wonderful Mel's' teachings. Visit her blog if you don't believe me: Pilates in Portreath

BAH Here We Come

2009-09-19T19:54:00.000+01:00

It's Saturday.

I took Fred for his hair cut this morning, and having been up since 5am fretting about whether he would get so stressed he would be a nuisance for Helen, I needn't have worried!

Sandra, Helen's friend came along too, and she has these spooky doggy whispery powers and kept him quite calm and happy, whilst his coat was cut and his dew claws trimmed..... Amazing!

He now looks very handsome, and I needn't have worried.

I walked through the front door at home at 11.05am, followed by Paul at 11.09am....... "Want to go to our caravan?" I asked....... "OK" he said.

A mad half hour of grabbing underwear, and strapping his bike to the back of the car, and we headed off up the A39 Atlantic Highway towards Somerset.

The weather was steaming hot, the sky blue, and Fred sound asleep on the back seat.

We soon arrived, then it was relaxation time before tomorrows drive back and Mondays return to work..... A walk was in order first though...

A really lovely impromptu weekend... now back to the grindstone

Mel's Magic Moment

2009-09-16T19:29:00.004+01:00

Went down the beach this avo to join Mel. The weather was great but it was really windy.

Having acted like a real girl, and used a mallet to bang in the wind breaker pegs, I then proceeded to watch as Mel went into the very choppy waters to catch a few waves...

Well done Mel.

The best I could manage was a non stop chat chat chat..... Normal for me I know! Poor Paul!

A Very English Afternoon Tea

2009-09-12T19:30:00.000+01:00

Jame and Phill's last day arrived with beautiful blue skies and scorching heat.

After a trip to Truro this morning we met up with everyone on the beach to fulfill the boys last holiday wish. A full cream tea of scones, clotted cream, strawberry jam and flasks of tea on the beach!

Once the wind breaks were up we settled down to fill out bellies, only peering out with the standard meerkat move to check out the occasional life guard or generally fit bod that was worth oggling!

Ricky had decided to go fishing in a friends canoe whilst we were eating and was determined to catch a load of fish.

When Mel finally saw him paddling back in we started to take bets on how many he'd managed to get...... I was reckoning on 2.....

Turns out he's a rather clever chap and came home with 10 mackerel!

After a debate on whether we were able to bring ourselves to gut them we agreed to take some each. Ricky kindly agreed to gut and head ours for us, right there on the beach, and I have to say, once we got it home and cooked it, we found it to be delicious.

Whens your next delivery due Ricky?

A Very Busy Week!

2009-09-11T22:00:00.002+01:00

Despite being at work all week, I am only there until 2pm each day, and, as the guys are still here on holiday, we are trying to fit in as many trips to the beach as possible before they go back to Luton.

Tuesday took us back into the water, and was the first time using my new body board

I literally popped home from work, let poor Fred into the garden for a potter whilst I put on my wet suit and grabbed my board, and then I headed down to Portie beach to meet Mel and the boys once more for a play in the sea.

All of this time I was feeling guilty that Paul was still slogging his guts out at work, but I did leave him a voicemail on his moby to come straight down after work and join us at 5pm.

We had just come out of the water when he finally arrived at 5.20 - he did not check his phone until he got home, but at least he had a few minutes to relax on the beach before we headed back to Fred

Thursday it was chill out time on the beach, as we just lay on towels and nattered, I had left a message for Paul that I would not be home until after 7 as I was going straight to Pilates before coming home. Paul was having a really crappy day and so I asked him to order a Chinese from the place around the corner from the beach, and I could collect it after class. This went a good way to cheer him up but he was not looking forward to tomorrow - Friday, as he had to fix the machine break down that had ruined his day today.

Friday morning arrived, and I had to go into work and ask if I could leave a bit earlier as the chap that was coming to service the boiler was coming earlier than expected previously - it's a good thing that I had some overtime from this week to claw back against!

The chap dutifully arrived just before 1pm, and set about the task. He was pleased with how well it was holding up, as the salty air normally fries everything inside them apparently. Whilst the chap was doing his thing, Paul went off the Perranporth to see if he could find a wet suit, having come top the conclusion, if you can't beat 'em join 'em!

As soon as the boiler man had finished and Paul returned from Perran , we headed on down to the beach again to join everyone, and once again vegged out on towels and generally enjoyed the beach, and the peace it created. Paul was happy to finish his week off like this, despite his morning at work not being as bad as he expected.

Everyone wanted to know about Paul's wetsuit - What wet suit he said dolefully - no-one had one big enough, or small enough or just right enough for him, as it was the end of the season and only small amounts of stock were left.... He was not a happy chappy.... We will keep looking though.

We did not get back from the beach until just after 7pm, and once we had eaten and tidied around a bit it was quite late. I went up for a shower only to find there was no hot water! Not possible I hear you say.... just serviced I can hear you all shout..... well after Paul had taken the cover off the boiler and played with it for a while, he realised that one of the clips had been left undone. Hey presto Hot Water... YAY!

So, tomorrow is another day and we are on the beach having cream teas before J and P go home, but before this, Paul and I are planning on heading over to Truro.

It's been an exhausting but fantastic week, with beautiful blue skies and sunshine. Long may it continue!

We Will Remember You

2009-09-11T09:00:00.000+01:00

Our thoughts are with the family's and people affected by the horrors of 9/11

The 'Not Quite' Birthday Surprise

2009-09-06T19:01:00.001+01:00

Jamie and Phill decided last night that they would like to do a surprise day for Sally-Ann for her Birthday today. NO today is not her birthday, but they are not quite sure when they will be down next and may not see her on the day.

Up until this decision was made, we were all supposed to be attending a '5' drive, treasure hunt and AGM meeting for the club. Needless to say fast action was needed!

I emailed Fiona, the web mistress for the club, to advise her that neither Sally-Ann, Mike or us would be attending, but for obvious reasons I could not let them know via the forum, as Sally-Ann may see the message!

Then, the boys advised us to wait on North Country in the normal '5' drive collection spot, and as they drive past with Sally-Ann and Mike in the back of the car, we were to tag on behind them and follow, convoy style up the A30 towards Ann's Cottage at Fraddon.

The plan..... to give Sally-Ann free reign with their cheque books and choose her own present. Needless to say, she took great pleasure in going back and forth to the changing rooms until her mind was made up, and there had been many shouts of "JOOOOOOO what does this look like?" LOL

After this, we all trooped upstairs for coffee and cake..... YUM!

So what happens now? asked Sally-Ann....... whatever you want we all said, you chose what we all do for the afternoon.....

DOH! Not a hard choice - we'll all go to the beach again for a surf she said!.... and that's what we did.

Of course, now I'm addicted and want my own board, so Paul, being gorgeous and wonderful, drove me down to Hayle to buy one from 'Down The Line'. I wanted a blue one to go with my wetsuit, but pink was all that was left....... It does look great though!

Another fab fun filled day with friends. Roll on tomorrow for a try of my own board!

Post Surf Barbie

2009-09-05T23:00:00.004+01:00

Following the days exursions, we all decided to end it with a BBQ.

Paul did the honours, and took charge of the cooking, in the time honoured husbandly fashion.

and the rest of us sat and enjoyed the pleasant and surprisingly warm evening whilst we filled our bellies.

Having eaten all of the hot stuff, we headed inside for the numerous puddings that had suddenly appeared as everyone arrived....

A great end to a fab day.

Board Stupid!

2009-09-05T17:00:00.007+01:00

OK! So here is my progress in the water....

My second sea victory is the use of a body board for the first time today - only the 2nd time in the sea. Not only is it my first time with a board but also Mels....

We headed on down to Gwithian beach with Sally-Ann, Mike, Jamie, Phill and Mel. Jamie and Phill had surf lessons booked and Mel and I intended to conqour some more fears.

Sally-Ann and Mike wanted to use their new full body wet suits - (they fell for mine and headed off to the same shop I went to) and new board for Sally-Ann.

Mel and I went in with a little trepidation, but I was soon lying down riding the waves, copying what Mike and Sally-Ann were doing in order to get the timing right....

and oh my goodness what fun!

then it was Mel's turn - and yes I did bully her a bit as she was a bit more scared than I was, but bless her, she did it and loved it too!

Sally-Ann then leant me her board, which had a slick bottom, for extra wave speed, and Mel and I went off again, together this time...

Before we came back in, nearly 2 hours later we thought a blog piccie was in order before
we all headed home for our showers and de-salting, in readiness for a BBQ at ours this evening

Atta Girl

2009-09-04T16:30:00.004+01:00

I feel so proud of this award!

My blogging friend Lori of Family Trees May Contain Nuts gave me the award for my watery wave jumping efforts in my previous post, Sand, Sea, Surf and Me.

I feel a bit naughty that I have received it really, as I had such fun, despite it being my first time in the sea, LOL.

Thanks you so much Lori, and for those of you visiting because of Lori's blog post, WELCOME and enjoy. x

Sand, Sea, Surf and me!

2009-09-01T20:10:00.000+01:00

OK - So on my post from Sunday, I mentioned that I wanted to learn to surf next year and that Jamie and Phill had talked me into going down to the beach with them to have a go.

Well today was the day!

For those of you who have a nervous disposition, please look away now - there will be photo' s of me in a wet suit!

I managed to get my own suit on Monday afternoon, I got a bargain, and it's a full body suit too - at least I knew I would be warm.

OK - so photo's coming up! - that's me with my arms in the air!

But look at the size of the wave coming up behind me!

Another thing I should mention..... I have never ever gone in the sea further than my ankles before - EVER! So when I tell you that the fourth wave caught me by surprise and I went straight under, mouth and eyes open, it came as a bit of a shock..... Poor Jamie stood over me asking "OMG are you OK?" and all I could do was splutter and laugh that I was, and was grateful that my contact lenses were still intact!

Right - are you ready for the shock picture then,

If so continue as normal

If not scroll down fast!

I came out just long enough to say hi to Sally-Ann, who was my official photographer for the afternoon, and then I was off back in again.... Who knew wave jumping could be such fun.... the boogie board did not even come off the beach!

Finally, the lads said we should go back in, and we headed back to Sally-Ann, and Mel, who had also come along to watch the antics..... Time for another blog classic..... The perfect surfing memory, me and my lovely men

Thanks for forcing my hand guys - I really enjoyed myself, and can't wait for the next time

Bank Holiday Blues...

2009-08-31T17:00:00.003+01:00

Soooooo..........

Whilst I was slogging my guts out at work, whilst the rest of Britain relaxed, Sally-Ann and Mike decided to rub salt into the wounds Ha Ha!

All I kept getting from them was - The weather was so lovely this morning! - Well by the time my Pilates class came around at 18.30 it was hammering it down and the wipers on the car could not cope! Phooey!

# Everything Stops For Tea.... La La La #

2009-08-30T18:00:00.004+01:00

A quiet Sunday morning.

Grey skies and drizzle.

Meet friends for afternoon tea.

Last night Sally-Ann contacted us to see if we would like to join them all for a Cornish Cream Tea at The Smugglers Cottage today. Great we said - we've not been there yet....

Unfortunately the weather got the better of us, and as Smugglers is on the river in a very picturesque location the day would not have done it justice. With this in mind, we amended our plans to include Trevaskis Farm instead.

Unfortunately on arrival at 3pm they were still serving the Sunday Lunches and turned us away..... What now we all said - Then someone mentioned the local Wyvale Garden Centre, at St Erth..... We all went bombing down the bypass in order to get there before they closed, all in a quest for the perfect scone and cream!

We made it in just enough time - and despite worrying the entire staff to death, as we all strolled in talking of cream teas (they only had 2 scones left at this time of day) we sat down with our various cake choices and enjoyed our Sunday afternoon.

On the way out I was talking of taking surf lessons next year - wrong thing to say with Jamie and Phill in earshot - I was to go in the water tomorrow afternoon with them - they had a spare wet suit... AAAAHHHH! Me and my big mouth!

Anyway, despite the sudden arrangements for body boards and wet suits we had a great time - Thanks for including us guys x

Men and Excersize- Phooey!

2009-08-29T14:44:00.008+01:00

The lovely Mel of Pilates Portreath fame, had managed to get hold of the hall this morning to give 2 lots of free Pilates classes for complete beginners as a sampler.

The Pilates Virgin Chicks were to be at 09.00 and the Virgin Men at 10.00

Simon had already agreed to go, and roped in Jamie and Phill (who were due to arrive at 5am that morning from Luton!)

The local chap from Portreath cried off at the last minute, so, as we all know each other or were related to each other, Sally-Ann and I were asked if we would like to join the lads.

We jumped at the chance, and I even managed to get Paul to come along!

Mel started off by showing the men, how to find neutral using their TA... They listened intently

She showed them how to release their back muscles in child's pose...

Then the hard work really started with the kilo and half kilo weights..... Now these exercises were ramped up for the lads, and SA and I found them quite tough, but they were not going to get the better of us in front of the lads!

Then it was time for the plank - keep those buts down lads!

and scissors with a raised circle - 45 degree angle for the legs boys!

We had great fun and were completely pooped at the end of it! Thanks Mel x

Paul and Simon's Tramway Cycle Ride

2009-08-28T20:41:00.002+01:00

When Simon said that he was going to bring his bike down with him on holiday, he and Paul said that they would try and fit in a cycle ride on one of the mineral tramways, before Simon had to go back home....

I arrived home from work, just in the nick of time and managed to snap a piccie of them in the back garden, before they headed off up the Great Flat Lode.

Paul had his mobile phone camera, and had strict instructions to take plenty of photo's for the blog! He clearly thought that the dark rain clouds that were headed their way were of interest to us all....

and after a light sprinkling of rain, they cycled out the other side and back into the blue skies again

they headed up towards the Bassett Stamps and Engine House

and on towards Wheal Francis

Marriot Shaft and Pascoe Shaft, with the Miners Dry House catching Paul's eye for another photo (below)

These are the two engine houses at South Wheal Frances, and are very large and imposing in comparison to some of the others he has seen

These information placards are inside the Miners Dry

and on towards Carn Brea mine (above) with South Crofty in the background (below)

Paul had a thoroughly enjoyable ride, and is thrilled that he actually managed to break the crank on his bike - Now he can finally get his replacement all singing all dancing new bike through the Ride 2 Work scheme that the government subsidise. Cheeky Monkey eh!

Dangermouse (The Cat!)

2009-08-28T14:14:00.000+01:00

Dangermouse is my friends cat - let us say, possibly the biggest cat in the entire world ever - well that I've met anyway!

He is the very much loved Ragdoll that belong to my friends Alison and Paul. Now Paul loves his music, and, as such has a very good music system and speakers, but when he needs extra cables etc, he uses the chord company. (http://www.chord.co.uk/chordweb/chord_news_dangermouse_the_cat.htm)

The last box they had delivered, Dangermouse adopted as his own, and curls up in it sleeping and generally doing cat like things.

It got to a point where he got so big (and I don't want to use the words fat and cat together but hey - I know that Alison won't object to it LOL!)

Paul and Alison decided they would send some photo's to the Chord Company and see if they could get a new bigger box for Dangermouse - and hey presto one arrived for him....

and Alison and Paul were advised that the staff at the Chord Company were so chuffed to have such an admirer of their cardboard cartons that they have got his pictures all over the walls of the offices and have made him their new company mascot!

Well done Dangermouse - you now fit into your new favourite toy once more!

Portreath Tide Race

2009-08-23T16:55:00.004+01:00

Let the games begin!

Once again the annual tide race is upon us.

For those of you not familiar with the concept, there are

usually 3 age groups, the toddlers being nearest the waters edge. The teens being the next row back and the adults on the back row, furthest from the waters edge.

The idea is to build a large sand castle and stand on it once the waves arrive, and hopefully be the last one standing above water to be the winner in your catagory.

The only stipulation is that if 3 people begin to build the castle, then 3 have to be standing on top of it once the water reaches it.

Everyone took their places for 2.30 and the building began..... They had about 45 minutes before the tide began to come in and slowly demolish them.

It was a great event as usual, despite the wind blowing up a bit, the weather stayed dry and everyone had fun.

Can't wait for next year - maybe we'll be entered in that one!

Jacks Christening

2009-08-23T14:46:00.002+01:00

Tracy (my work friend) and Adrian had the Christening today for their baby son Jack. I was

honoured to be asked to attend the celebrations with them, as it was mainly family that were invited along.

Jack was a little angel and kept up his smiling, happy face all day, and whilst the music played, he enjoyed a little dance on my lap.

Alison (my other work friend) snapped this for me.

Tracy and Adrian put on a fantastic spread of food and drink and the family partied away to their hearts content.

Well done Jack!

Redruth to Lands Ends 26.3 miles and 47 minutes to drive there...

2009-08-22T17:33:00.006+01:00

Last night Jannah-Beth came over from Perranporth to stop with us for the night.

The plan was to relax on Friday evening and fill Saturday with as much of Cornwall as possible.

And so, after a nice walk on Portreath beach with Fred, we sat and watched a little TV and then headed up for an early night, to prepare ourselves for the coming morning.

The day awoke mizzly and muggy, but this was not enough to stop our plans.

We put together a picnic of ham tiger baps, juice, crisps, banana's and apples and headed out.

Sennen was the first stop of the day. We parked at the top of the hill, overlooking the bay and walked on down Marias Lane and across country. We knew before we headed off that today would involve a lot of walking so were very prepared, with shoes and wet weather jackets. Paul carrying the picnic hamper on his back like a rucksack, and Fred toddling along quite happy to sniff all of the new smells.

We had been told that a Super Pod of 60 dolphins along with some basking sharks had been spotted in this bay in the last 4 or 5 days, and were keeping our fingers crossed that we would get a sighting.

This was unfortunately not to be, but we did get to see plenty of seals, playing near to the rocks.

From Sennen, we walked the mile or so to Lands End, and had a mooch around the shops and took the usual appropriate pictures, before we headed back on the coastal path towards Sennen again.

The walk back, also included our picnic, and we munched as we marched!

From Sennen we decided to head over to Helford via Marazion.

Of course this meant the obligatory shot in front of St Michael's Mount for the scrap books!

Needless to say, JB was pretty embarrassed to have me stop her every 2 minutes with a camera request!

We then arrived in Helford, and had tea and home made chocolate cake at the little chapel we had managed to find with Sally -Ann and Mike on a previous jaunt around the Lizard headland.

JB arrived back in Perranporth just in the nick of time for her evening shift to start in the family chip shop - and when we arrived it was already really busy... Having said that they do do the very best Fish and Chips in Cornwall..... and of course I am not in the slightest bit biased..... but we did get cod and chips for tea - YUM!

If you are in the area, try it for yourself:-

Browns Fish and Chips, Tywarnhayle Square, Perranporth, Cornwall. You won't be disappointed!

Men and Dogs

2009-08-16T12:11:00.003+01:00

On Friday evening it was the annual boat trip up the Fal with the MX-5 owners club.

Whilst the evening was very enjoyable and the fireworks more incredible than normal, I was not quite all there. I had had to leave Paul at home, suffering with a really nasty bout of Man Flu. This is the first time I have really seen Paul give in to a cold or flu, so I knew he was feeling pretty grotty. I spent most of the evening at the back of the boat texting him to check he was OK!

He promised me he was having an early night and would be in bed before 8.30. At 9.30 I received a picture text. He had built up the dining table that had been delivered that afternoon, and more to the point, it was supposed to be a two man build project!

When I got home just after 11pm, I found that he had only just gone to bed, having built up the 4 chairs to go with the dining table!

The following morning, I came downstairs to find out that Fred had been sick a few times and had got a cough. (thankfully all the downstairs floors are laminated!) and he was very snuffly. I spoke with his vet, and he advised that he had a viral infection or cold and just to keep an eye on him for the next few days.

So now I have 2 sick men in the house. Saturday came and went, with a lot of vegging out on the couch, watching Paul sleep on the sofa, and me cuddling Fred, and soothing his throat each time he coughed.

As he was his usual jolly doggy self, he kept trying to bark at the usual barkable noises, only to find that his throat hurt and he then started to cough again! He didn't stop bouncing around the garden though.

We had to get up to him in the night for an urgent trip into the garden, and at 5am I ended up bringing a duvet downstairs and sleeping on the couch with him.

He finally settled at about 6.30 and got some shut eye.

So here I am - Sunday lunchtime, knackered, and ready for bed and SLEEP!

Yawn........

A Genealogical Thank You!

2009-08-13T19:38:00.005+01:00

I would like to say a great big Thank You to Sally-Ann and Lori E for all of their help on trying to confirm a couple of stubborn family members for my Family Tree.

I have now ordered a birth certificate for one of the children, and this will hopefully confirm the mothers name once and for all.

Once more thanks so much , and I will keep you updated on my finds in Tribal Pages x

A Very Busy Day - Gardens, Kitchens and Exhibits

2009-08-08T17:38:00.007+01:00

Saturday morning and the sun is shining and its 21 degrees at 10 am!

Out I went to mow the lawn and weed around my lovely planter, that is now filling up and packing out with amazing speed, considering what it looked like just after Paul made it. Check out my other posts under the garden label - you'll be amazed!

Whilst I was outside, catching the much needed sunshine, Paul had decided it was about time he tried to get a bit more of the kitchen done. Yes I know that we started this project in April, but hey! Life happens around us and some things become more important than a perfectly completed kitchen. Paul had to do a few weeks of night shift, we had a lovely two week holiday, and to be honest we were just DIY'd out for a while! LOL.

Once the metal support strap had been fixed to the wall, the 'floating' cabinets were placed into position, along with the chrome support leg, which looks like it's just there to be pretty, but is actually, helping to take the weight of the cabinets, so that when they are full, I don't have to worry about them collapsing!

And..... Hey presto - floating wall units - Isn't my man wonderful!

Although, it looks finished, there is actually still rather a lot to do, grouting of tiles, fixing of under unit lighting, skirting board, architrave, radiator.... the list goes on, but it is really looking great now.

We took a break this afternoon, so that we could attend the Tramways exhibit in Portreath, detailing all of the background history for last weeks celebrations

The organisers had worked really hard on the celebrations and the exhibit and even had a working model of the tramway line showing how it worked up and down the 250 foot incline it was faced with each time it was in use.

There were beautiful photo's of the ships that frequented the harbour, and we were lucky enough to meet Captain Greenslade, a lovely chap, who was so knowledgeable about how life had been in Portreath all those years ago.

He graciously agreed to be photographed with a picture of the ship be captained, the SS Isleman.

Genealogy and Sunsets

2009-08-07T21:55:00.007+01:00

Today it was time to get a gear on, and actually find out where a particular family in my family tree appear in various census.

This family line has been the bain of my life for the past 3 plus years, as we have just not been able to get any further back, and every now and again my frustration gets the better of me and the hunt starts all over again.

Mike and Sally-Ann came over, with the intention of Paul and Mike doing the brakes on their Mk1 MX5, whilst Sally-Ann and I do a little family history research.

Unfortunately the final part they needed did not arrive on time so the cars brakes were put on hold. This meant that there were two very bored husbands watching on as Sally-Ann and I shrieked each time we found something new on our respective lap tops that would lead up further back in time for my family line. Bless them!

We did really well in our hunt and actually made quite good headway, along with a potential relative on Genes Reunited.

After we had eaten, we headed down the Portreath Beach with the dogs

The sun was just dropping into the sea as we arrived....

A lovely end to the evening

My 300th Post!

2009-08-06T19:47:00.005+01:00

Wow - My 300th post - I know I can talk for England but who knew I was as bad when I write things down too!

So ....... For such an epic event, I thought it should be dominated by friends - naturally, as they are such a huge and important part of my life.

Firstly, Sally-Ann and Mike always there in a crisis, and always there for the fun times too - my life would not be complete without them - and that goes for my Family Tree too, as Sally-Ann has done most of the hard graft on that for me, usually whilst I'm at work, and making me smile with daft little questions by email to break up the monotony of my paid for duties to my employer!

Then there are the friends I left behind in Birmingham, who I still love dearly, and wish meeting up could be a more regular thing.

There is my new friend Mel. Mel is my Pilate's teacher, and despite only knowing her for about 3 and a half months, I feel like I have known her for years, she is so easy to get on with and we do laugh a lot, especially during the strange positions she gets us into during class. She has just adopted a greyhound from the local greyhound trust, and I can foresee many walks on the beach with her, and Ernie. The first of which we had on Tuesday, along with Sally-Anne and Mike, Fred and Hamish.

And last, but by no means least, there are the friends I have made in the blogging community, who boost my spirits with the lovely comments they leave me, and make me smile with the witty and interesting posts that they write.

So there we are then. Post number 300 complete. Role on the next 300 is all I can say.

XoXo

Portreath Bi-Centennial of the Tramway

2009-08-01T21:38:00.012+01:00

The History Lesson for Today....

In 1809 Francis Basset, Lord De Dunstanville of Tehidy, laid the first section of track to the north Cornish port of Portreath which, in doing so, created the first above ground tramway route in Cornwall to use iron rails, linking the inland copper mines of North Downs and Poldice with the harbour and major copper smelters of south Wales.

Coal from the Welsh valleys was also to be imported in great quantity to power Cornish mine engines by return establishing an important reciprocal trade. The opening of the tramroad, or plateway as originally built, enabled massive growth in the volume of both copper ore and coal moving between the two areas, and the expansion of both the mining and smelting industries as a result. (Sourced information from: http://www.cornish-mining.org.uk/activities/activities.htm)

And so, in the 21st Century - 200 years later....

The day dawned a little cloudy and mizzly (that's drizzly and misty in Cornwall speak!).

We had arranged to head off to Sally-Ann and Mikes for midday to watch the celebrations from their front veranda, as they live right on the head of the harbour in Portreath.

The sun came out and the day started to get very warm indeed and, after eating a rather scrummy lunch of prawn sandwich and cream cakes,we watched as the sails of the old lugger came into view over the harbour walls.

Then it was time to turn into Anneka Rice (from Treasure Hunt for those of you too young to remember!) and charge up the harbour to get blog photo's...

as the lugger entered the harbour walls the swells from the sea made it difficult to do what was originally intended - to hobble her through by foot.

instead, the talented crew sailed her right through the harbour cut

with Sally-Ann and I racing up ahead of it every few minutes to get the next photo!

in she came, safe and sound

and was moored at the far end of the harbour, and prepared for the next leg of her journey

This lovely lady and gent agreed to pose for us, as they looked so handsome in their costumes, and it was not until later on, when the speeches began, that we realised we had been talking to some high up big wigs, involved in the organising of the celebrations!

At this point, we realised we were on the wrong side of the harbour for the procession, bands and speeches, so once again we did a quick sprint around the head of the harbour and ensconced ourselves at the front to watch the speeches

everyone then headed off once more, this time towards Greenfield Gardens for the unveiling of a tramway wagon, built by the students of Pool and Enterprise College

again we found some lovely ladies all dressed in period costume, who kindly agreed to pose, and again it turns out they were involved in the organising!

Once all of the speeches were complete and the commemorative plaque unveiled, Paul and I had a quick moment to catch up (I'd left him behind at the harbour, when I'd dashed up to the gardens for more blog photo's!)

following the unveiling, all of the village children were presented with a coin, in memory of the days events

If you would like more historical information, please feel free to click on the link mentioned above, where you will find the full itinerary of the day more factual info. (the Dolcoath Penny photo was also taken from this site)

My Poor Wounded Soldier!

2009-07-28T22:30:00.002+01:00

On this evenings bedtime walk, Fred decided to get up close and personal with the neighbours Ginger Tabby Cat - Now this cat is a great big bruiser of a thing, but that did not stop Fred - Cats are fair game in his book!

and so, as Paul pulled back on Fred's lead to stop him, the cat was obviously quicker - and with a snarl and a swipe Fred was sent home with his tail between his legs.

Upon returning from every walk, Fred always comes over to me, and if I'm seated, launches himself bodily onto my chest to tell me about his fun time out with Daddy.

It was at this point I queried where all of the blood was coming from - and I mean Loads of blood.

It seems Ginger Tom did actually make contact with Fred's ear before sending him on his way, and so the next half hour was made up of Paul holding Fred and whispering to him whilst I dabbed warm water with TCP liquid all over his ear to try and stem the bleeding.

Of course, Fred was oblivious to why he was getting all the fuss, and just curled up on his big pillow and enjoyed the attention, while I was worrying about infections etc.

Anyway, morning came around and he wolfed down an entire tin of food - so no long term effects were felt by him, just Mummy worrying about nothing as usual!

I'm sure it won't stop him from trying to get close for another chat with Ginger Tom, but then that's dogs for you!

My Hubby the Hero

2009-07-28T21:08:00.004+01:00

At pilates class last night, I found out that Mel, my instructor and lovely new friend, has got car trouble.

On her arrival back to Newquay Airport, after a week in London, her car had broken down and was stuck up there on the car park.

I, of course, offered Paul's services, as I thought it sounded like something that had happened to my car a few years ago.

This evening, all three of us headed off up to the Airport to have a go at jump starting her car, and hopefully getting it back to Portreath to be checked out and repaired, if necessary, by a garage.

As Paul had checked the amp age on the battery, (another man gadget is used), Mel looked on in horror in case it couldn't be fixed.

Then the jump leads came out and got hooked up to each car.

Paul then asked me to hold the revs on his car at 2000rpm, to ensure a good transfer of power to Mel's poor, very flat, car battery.

Success, within a couple of minutes, her little car was up and running, and we were headed off to the pay point to get our tickets authorised for exit from the car park.

On the way back, Mel found a new colourful friend (who she maintains has never been there on her past visits), and she got a little friendly with it!

... and if it wasn't her doing this it would have been me!

The drive back to Portreath and Redruth was uneventful, and as her little car seemed OK, we went on to the chippy for some supper, before heading home.

Well done Paul, I know you can never let a damsel in distress go un-aided, and you came through once more!

Mind Blown

2009-07-27T15:34:00.002+01:00

First day back at work and OMG!

My feet hit the ground running and didn't stop.

Welcome back eh!

Hair Raising...

2009-07-23T15:28:00.001+01:00

I awoke this morning with the sole purpose in my mind of getting my hair cut!

I do this! Get a thought or idea in my head and then mither myself until I actually get it done!

Off I went into Minehead, having left Paul with instructions to vacuum the van for me, and headed in the general direction of where I thought there may be a salon....

It did not take me long to find one that could fit me in there and then.

Now as most of you have seen, my hair is very thick and curly and takes some drying, so the poor girl was definitely in no need of a work out on her arms by the time she had finished blow drying me, but I have to say she did a grand job.

The ends are now lovely and blunt again, and I cannot wait to try pin curling once more.

Roll on the weekend!

Dunster Circular

2009-07-21T18:00:00.001+01:00

A day out in the rain was just the ticket - we had a wander around the grounds of Dunster Castle, got very wet, and finished with a coffee and (cheesy chips in Paul's case).

Yes it rained, but, believe it or not we had a great day!

Party Time

2009-07-18T23:59:00.001+01:00

OK - So today is party day.... The room is booked from 3pm and we have to be there on time, of course.

I have managed, however to make sure that we get to see Kelly and Dylan before hand.

We are booked into the Whitehorse for lunch with them. After a little mis-hap with turning up at different White Horse pubs, we finally managed to get together.

Dylan is a little smasher, and it was lovely to see Kelly and her partner Paul, looking so happy and well.

From here we went straight off to Fazeley again to join the party. JB and Mel had caught a flight up from Newquay last night so that they could also be there. Spookily JB and I kept thinking and saying the same things at the same time - does that maker her 15 going on 40 or me 40 going on 15??!

Paul got the chance to spend a little more time with his sister Karen

and a good time was had by all.

At a quarter to midnight I found a voicemail on my mobile from Phil - he was in Nightingales with Jamie and Simon, and why was I not there as I was in Brum?

Because I'm a decrepit old lady now that's why Phil, and I need my sleep - next time maybe? LOL

Happy 40th Karen x

2009-07-17T23:59:00.005+01:00

Today we took the long drive up from the caravan in Somerset to Tamworth in Staffordshire. The reason? Paul's sister, Karen, is 40 today.

We arrived at lunchtime, and headed for the Fort Shopping Park to grab a snack and a quick look to see what had changed if anything in the 2 and a half years we have been away.

Needless to say, we stayed about 15 minutes and then headed off to the Ladybridge in Tamworth to get our food there.

After an enjoyable lunch, we headed off to see one of our friends and her little son before heading off to meet up with Paul's Mom (who had been working up until now).

After supper, we had a little drive back over to Fazeley from Walmley, so that we could see Karen on her birthday.

On arrival, Paul and Karen got all emotional - it's lovely they can be together today...

What a wonderful surprise we got - That morning, Dave had asked her to marry him!

Of course this meant that we had to have a drink to celebrate, and two glasses Baileys later both Marg and I were feeling a little bit squiffy to say the least!

Poor Paul then had to get us back to Walmley, so that we could crash out before the official party tomorrow afternoon.

Awards....

2009-07-17T20:56:00.001+01:00

I'm on my hols and picking up my emails whenever I can get near a McDonalds and their Wi-Fi connection and find that, I have received an award. Not once but twice...

Thanks so much guys.

And now in order to accept, I have to tell you all 10 things about myself..... Here goes!

1. I was 40 in October 2008 and am finding it very hard to believe that I am actually older than 22!

2. I am 5'9" with blue eyes

3. I have a fascination with forensics and criminology.

4. I have been married for 17 years, but have not been lucky enough to become a Mom.

5. I drive a racey little blue MX-5 sports car and am a member of the Cornish Fives Owners Club (but unfortunately have not been able to do much with them this year)

6. I am a loyal friend and will always be there when and if I am needed - after all friends are the family that you choose.

7. I don't have much family of my own left, and therefore love them unconditionally. I am also lucky enough to have the support of Paul's family, and the same goes for them.

8. I rarely drink alcohol, but on the occasions that I do never have more that 2 glasses - the hangover is just not worth it!

9. Despite the fact that I rarely drink - you will normally find me to be the first on the dance floor - often alone! and the last to leave it!

10. I love my husband as much now as I did when we married - AAAAAHHH!

So there we go - 10 useless bits of info on me.

I know that I have to pass this award on, and will get back to you upon my return, with my winners

TTFN

Wi-Fi Accessible

2009-07-16T21:12:00.001+01:00

Yeah right!

I went around Minehead and found an internet café that give free WiFi broadband, only to find that I was about 3 hours too early. It’s only on at certain times.

After having our lunch there and very nice it was too, we headed back, and stopped off at the reception area, on the off chance that the site is coming into the 21st century.

YES! Finally! Today was the first day though it will cost £5.88 for 90 minutes of non consecutive use over a 24 hour period.

OK I said – that’s cheaper than 2 coffees at the place in Minehead!

I got online and downloaded a map that we need for tomorrow and then started to copy and paste the word documents that I had written up onto blogger.

I got the first one on and pressed the button to download onto my blog.

The internet crashed and I have not been able to access it since.

I am somewhat cross, as I still have an hours worth of use to get from my payment, and we shall not be in Somerset tomorrow, instead we shall be headed up to Birmingham to see some of Paul’s family.

GGRRRR….. WiFi shmyfi!

UPDATE---- The people at McDonalds are wonderful – thanks to them I have free WiFi connection and have been able to update you YAY!

Day Trippin' Yeah....

2009-07-14T20:42:00.002+01:00

Today we actually had a plan.

Having poured over the map for a while, we decided on a little day trip, combining a place that Paul really wanted to see and a place that I really wanted to see, with an added bonus at the end.

The reason for this – we were able to do a loop from the caravan in a large clockwise rotation, incorporating all 3 sites and ending back up at the van, where we started.

We headed off to Bridgwater (normally a 40 minute drive from us) and promptly got stuck in a line of traffic, with the rain coming down threatening to spoil the day.

We finally got to Bridgwater after an hour, and had to do a stop at Halfords for a new wiper blade, and a loo stop at the Asda!

Success on the loo stop, disaster on the wiper blade front – they didn’t stock them. We tried 3 other companies and gave up – we were now an hour and a half into the journey a still a little way away from our first target.

As we arrived into Cheddar Gorge our luck changed. We managed to get a parking place in the heart of the village, and a chap gave us his parking ticket that was valid for the whole day – Bonus!

The weather had dried up and it started to get really warm.

We plodded around the beautiful village snapping away with the camera and soaking up the atmosphere. There were loads of lovely restaurants that we would have loved to use, but I am on a diet this week (needs must), and so we had bought along a picnic.

We headed back to the car and ate our lunch, and Fred enjoyed a bowl of lovely cold water, and then headed of to target number two.

Wells is a beautiful medieval cathedral city, and what we didn’t realise until we wandered up the main street was that we recognised it from one of our favourite films, Hot Fuzz! It was amazing just how well everything came across on camera, it all looked exactly as it does in the film.

We wandered around the Bishops Palace, sitting on the edge of the moat watching the ducks and swans. Fred found it very interesting.

As usual everyone fell in love with Fred and he made plenty of new friends, as you can see.

Once we had wandered around for a couple of hours, we headed off to the final destination, this one was only because it was on the way back and we had never stopped off there before.

Glastonbury – well what can I say about this place – we paid for an hours parking, spent 10 minutes there, and left. I apologise to everyone who thinks this is a magical place with wonderful vibes and happy feelings, but all we encountered were, well I don’t wish to be rude…. All I shall say is we wasted 10 minutes of our lives that we want back please!

We arrived home (at the van), and collapsed once more. Another very full, very warm day, that we thoroughly enjoyed (we choose to think that Glastonbury just did not happen!)

I wonder what tomorrow will have in store….

Mooching

2009-07-13T20:29:00.000+01:00

We had a little mooch around Minehead this morning.

We want to do the Quantock Bell Dining Experience of the Steam Train. In the 9 and a half years that we have owned a van at Blue Anchor, we have never been able to match a holiday up to the dining events that they do, and we were hoping that this Summer was going to change that.

While we were in Minehead checking out the timetable, Paul took the opportunity to have a check over the steam train that had just pulled in.

While we were having a wander the coal was replaced in the engines bunker.

Anyway, getting back to the reason we were here – You guessed it our holiday does not match up with the nights that the dining evening are being held.

There is one in August, but that falls on the Saturday following the Falmouth Boat trip with the fivers, so is out of the question.

Better luck next year eh?

Talk about avid blogger.

2009-07-13T10:30:00.001+01:00

Having written up Saturday’s blog on a word document, I found it imperative to find someone daft enough to have their broadband connection enabled to any user, so that I could download it onto my latest post.

The reason for this – you cannot get a signal by dongle at the caravan. We are in a dead zone.

We drove around Minehead for ages, just to see if I could find a connection – all in the aid of an updated blog!

We decided that this was rather cheeky and despite finding about 3 or 4 wireless connections that were enabled to anyone, I could not bring myself to do it!

I know what you are all thinking – you’re on holiday girl, you should be relaxing, not on the lap top all day, and certainly not trying to get a WiFi connection.

Well in actual fact I’ve only been on the laptop for about half an hour in total, and I miss it!!!!

Will update you again as soon as I can

XOXO

An Interesting Journey Up Country

2009-07-11T19:30:00.005+01:00

We finally left home at 10.30 on our journey to BAH (Blue Anchor Hideaway). Unfortunately, despite living in Cornwall for over 2 and a half years now, we forgot the big big rule that all locals should always adhere to…… NEVER LEAVE CORNWALL ON A SATURDAY.

From the moment we left the house we sat in traffic – nose to tail holiday traffic! It took us 45 minutes to cover the 5 miles to Chiverton Cross roundabout, and after 4 hours we had still not reached Temple.

The car was moving a few feet every 15 minutes or so and there was no turning off for miles yet. I wanted to turn back home and try again tomorrow, but then a news flash came on stating that the west bound carriageway was also stationary, just like the East bound.

We were stuck.

I pulled the map and did what all good Cornish people do (yeah I know we aren’t Cornish, but our audition is going well!) – used the little known unmarked roads to weave across to the A39 Atlantic Highway. I knew that a turning was coming up for a small village called Helland, so we took the turn.
The road just allowed 1 car through, it was very tight but there was nothing ahead so we were able to make back some time with a heavy foot on the gas!

My map reading won out once more and we found the A39, it was empty of traffic and a joy to be on!

We then headed on towards Bude, Bideford, Barnstable and Lynton. Once at Bideford (about 5 and a half hours into the journey at this point) we stopped at the Atlantic Village shopping outlet, to allow Fred a walk and to grab some food for us.

Then it was onward toward Lynmouth. Here we stopped once more for a little walk with Fred, and then headed on towards Minehead.

We were pulling through Alcombe at 6pm, and decided to grab Fish and chips for supper, as the van was now only 10 minutes way.

We got in after 8 hours of travelling – the journey normally takes 2.5 hours – ate our supper and collapsed on the couch.

We definitely deserved the early night we gave ourselves after that day.

Funnily enough though, it was quite a nice day – this was the first traffic jam we have encountered in over 2 years, and we found that watching the people cooing over Fred being a tart on the back seat, watching them from his window, quite amusing.

The stop at Atlantic Village made us decide to go back again when we had the time, as we had not been there before, and the stop in Lynmouth was pleasant and unrushed as people were already leaving after having had their day there already.

So all in all, quite a tiring day, but not in the least bit as terrible as it sounded!

Especially for Jordiegirl.....

2009-07-09T20:14:00.006+01:00

On My previous post Jordiegirl posted a lovely comment, for which I thank her, and asked me how to get your signature at the bottom of your post.

So here it is chick, your very own "How To..."

Take a little trip onto:

http://www.mylivesignature.com/

It's a really easy website to use and will generate your signature for free, all you have to do is follow the instructions. It will show you different typefaces and colours to choose from and once you are happy, it will ask if you want to generate that signature.

Once you have generated the signature you need to 'copy' the HTML code that is created. (I took a screen dump and saved it to my PC to refer to it later if I needed to).

You then need to open your blog up in another tab, if you want your signature to come up every time you blog you can set it permanently. Click on the Settings Tab. Then Formatting. Then paste the HTML code into post template (right at the bottom of the screen) Select update.

The next time you open "your create a post", your signature should come up at the top of the page. You just need to place your cursor in front of it and drop it down a couple of lines so that you can begin typing above it.

and VOILA! your very own personalised blog post.

Hope you can follow this and manage to set it up OK, as I have done this in a bit of a rush - On Holiday tomorrow avo for a couple of weeks, so I will have to play catch up on my postings when I return.

Meanwhile, don't work too hard everyone.... ! I'm on my jollies now LOL...

xoxo

BBQ Night

2009-07-07T23:00:00.000+01:00

Every other month the Cornish Fives (MX-5 Owners Club) meet at the Hawkins Arms in Zelah, for a catch up and an exchange of knowledge and info about our cars, and occasionally have a quiz night.

This month Peter and Rhona offered to have a BBQ at their home, near Truro. All we had to do was bring our own meat!

As I knew pretty much where we were going, we arranged to meet Sally-Ann and Mike in the normal place.

While we waited for them to arrive (we got there far to early) we watched a couple on horse back enjoy the lovely sunny evening.

The others arrived and we headed off up the by-pass with them in close succession.

Upon arrival, we got our burgers on the Barbi, and settled down with our drinkie poos (I wasn't driving!) and watched the men at work....

Poor Peter - I don't think he wanted his piccie taken LOL!

The evening drew on, and we filled our bellies, and had plenty of laughs

and yes.... That is me on the picture below with Gin bottle in hand.... It was only my second one of the night HONEST!

We had a wonderful evening, it made a great change to the pub night (which Paul goes to alone as I normally don't bother to attend!)

It made us realise how little we have been able to do with the club this year, especially if you look back over the past couple of years of blogging that I have done. What with Paul having short hours at work, and all of the DIY projects still being tackled, it will be a little while yet before we can do our next Sunday club drive, but I know that we shall look forward to it, whenever it may end up being.

What is it with men?

2009-07-04T17:47:00.002+01:00

So.... I've had a lovely day out with my Hubby. We went for a mooch around the shops in Truro. Had lunch in the Lounge (our favourite little spot behind the cathedral), and spent loads in our favourite surfy dude type clothes store sale.

However, before we left the house, I followed my new 1940's type grooming regime. I curled my hair. Did my eyes with eye liner, with the cute little outward 1940's flick at the ends and painted my lips a lovely vibrant red.

I was wearing my new bargain, high waisted trousers with a deep waistband holding 3 buttons (Deanna Durbin style) and a brightly coloured sleeveless top with a front ruffle.

I felt a million dollars.

We pulled up and parked at the park and ride - the only way to travel to Truro during the holiday season - and waited to get on the next bus into town - suddenly all of the men that worked there were very attentive and apologetic at having to make me wait - now at this point there were about 20 people waiting, but it was me that they all spoke to !!!

What do you reckon? -was it the lippy, and make-up that I had carefully put on before leaving the house or are all men just daft, for a lady that has bothered to doll herself up in this day and age?

I have to say - it did make a nice change to get some attention, even if it did only last as long as the ride into town - LOL

Pilates Perfect

2009-07-02T17:21:00.007+01:00

When Mel suggested a one on one with her for our Pilate's we jumped at the chance - after all, what better way to make sure that we were doing all of these moves correctly...

Sally-Ann went first and I panicked a bit when I saw what we had to do - and balanced on a sausage of sponge too!

but amazing as it may seem - I did manage more than I thought....

until it all went horrible wrong and I went tipping off the side (thankfully SA did the same thing so I didn't feel so daft!)

then the items of torture came out, in the way of the ring, the band and the ball...

and all the time - Core girls, think about keeping your Core active...

we finished with a final stretch or two, and then came the good bit - tea and cakes YAY for the Pilate's chicks....

Go Girls!

Next it's the boys turn - I know that Mel already has her sights on Paul - in the whole pull your shoulders back sort of way - LOL!

We had a great time - thanks Mel