It's over

The end of 2012, a year I will be glad to see the end of, it has been a strange year...

The London Olympics
The Queens diamond Jubilee
The Royal Wedding
William & Kate's announcement of their pregnancy
All good things

The terrible floods throughout the country leading to deaths and devastation
murders
suicides
missing people
homelessness
hunger
poverty
all bad

The Government causing so many problems for so many vulnerable people,
but thinking they are doing great things...

But now the year is over, time to move on into 2013, to look ahead...
It has to get better,
Didn't I say that last year???

 I have given the Blog a make over for the New Year, a bit brighter and it fits in with all the reading I am doing at the moment.

 Happy New Year...

It's nearly over...

Tony had cold for Christmas and shared it with me, he is so generous!
I am just about getting over it now, I have a few snuffles and my throat is still a bit sore, but on the up side I have lost 4lbs in weight so it is not all bad.
We are both still coughing specially on a night I have to sleep sitting up, I think I may have a dose of "the man cold"...

Elvira came and stayed 2 nights at christmas and as far as I know she has not caught cold from us. She seemed to enjoy herself and we enjoyed her company.

The garden is still a bit bog like, the squirrels are still not bothered.  We bought them hazelnuts and pecan nuts for christmas, they even got some chocolate and extra peanut butter so they were happy.
The birds were not left out either they were treated to left over pastry from the sausage rolls and mince pies.
I am pleased to say there has been no sign of the rat

He/she might be cute but was not welcome in the garden.

The Goldfinches and Greenfinches have been feeding in the big fir tree outside my bedroom window so I managed to take a couple of shots of them which I was quite pleased with...

Apart from that the garden is still very quiet.

So it's nearly all over, just new years to survive and things can get back to normal, whatever that is?

Well it didn't happen...

The end of the world never happened then, we are all safe until the next time its threatened...

The rain is still causing problems, the garden is slowly becoming a swamp.  The squirrels don't seem too bothered by it, they still visit every day, the birds however do not seem as keen.

Christmas is almost upon us, we have done all the shopping we are going to do, so if we have forgotten anything we will do without. The few presents that have been bought will be wrapped tomorrow and taken out on Monday.

Tony has just about finished the office apart from a couple of arty little touches, he was cleaning up the hoovering being the last job of the day and somehow managed to smack himself under the chin with the pipe (I did try not to laugh) he has a bruise appearing so it must have given him a hefty whack! I just don't know how he does it.

I have had a go at baking some cakes,( under Tonys supervision for safety reasons, ) I made some date and walnut cakes and I am very pleased with how they turned out. So I decided to try a Pear & Mincemeat Crumble Cake. I am pleased with that too, and the sausage rolls.
Who knows what I may try next, of course the first sign of a twitch, burn or anything else and it will stop again.

Oh well time to go until the next time...

I am going to say the F word...

I am, here it comes, are you ready for it ? I am going to say it now...
Fifty... Yes there I said it, Fifty, I am Fifty!
I have been alive for half a century!
What am I supposed to feel like? I don't feel any different! I feel just the same as yesterday, last week , last month even last year. It's all a bit of a let down really.
I did get a few more cards then expected, one from my big sister was the biggest surprise!
I got a lovely gift from Elvira, a Johnny Cash first sun recording set of  LPs and CDs and a card that had me in stitches.
Tony took me out, bought me breakfast, then cooked me dinner this evening, we don't do presents as such, we both agreed a long time ago that we had just about everything we needed so presents didn't matter as long as we have each other.
Today also has a sad anniversary it is four years ago today since John passed away.  The Johnny Cash  albums that Elvira gave me today belonged to John which makes them all the more special.

I haven't been in the garden much it has been very quiet, even the unwelcome guest we had seems to have disappeared .

A quiet few days...

Things have been quiet in the garden lately, there is nothing much to photograph or to write about. We do appear to have a new young squirrel visiting, he is much smaller than the rest but is not as shy as some of them. He posed very nicely for me on the wall this afternoon...

The only other visitors I had were my friendly Robin...

and a Dunnock trying out the bird-table at the back of the shed...

Tony is getting along well with his office, so tomorrow we will be having a trip to IKEA to purchase some furniture for the room.
 I can't wait!!!

Attack of the OAP...

Today Tony and I had to go into town, I needed to collect my tablets, Tony needed some decorating essentials for his office.
We decided to go on the bus it is easier and cheaper than parking the car. The weather was pretty grim, cold, windy and raining. We stood at the bus stop talking to a lady who lives up the road from us, there was also another woman waiting. We were waiting maybe ten minutes, then another lady came just before the bus.
As the bus pulled up the lady we had been talking to climbed on the bus, before I had chance the last lady to appear pushed her way on. So I said to Tony " it's alright standing here getting wet when others can just jump straight on" . Well she turned round put her fist in my face and shouted " you better shut your mouth you or I will shut it for you" . I was quite taken aback and just laughed at which point she grabbed my glasses off my face, and continued to threaten me. There was not a lot a lot I could do as I use 2 sticks now so I had no free hand. Tony took my glasses back from her and told her to go sit down at which point she started to threaten him, telling him " I will hit you I hit a man a work I don't care" . She carried on for a while so I just ignored her.
When we got to town Tony spoke to the bus driver who told him that the whole thing was on the bus CCTV if we wanted to report an assault. Tony spoke to the lady and told her what the driver had said,
Earlier this evening she came and knocked on our door and apologised, she said she hadn't seen us because she has a cataract in her left eye so she only saw the other lady and the girl in red! The fact we were stood in between these two people on her right side didn't quite match up with her story, but what can I say, she said sorry and the way she acted I think she might be a little bit mentally unbalanced
So that was the most exciting part of my day being attacked by a 67 year old lady who didn't even reach my shoulder...

Another sad day in our lives...

This morning at about 9:20am Tonys Aunty Joan died! She has been ill for a while, however when I went with Elvira to visit her on Friday she seemed to be better than I had expected. I came away from the hospital feeling happier to have seen Joan with some colour in her cheeks and looking quie well. So the call this morning came as quite a shock. I will miss Joan even though I didn't spend a lot of time with her I enjoyed her company when I did. It is sad to see a family member or friend go down the road of  " Dementia" but I like to believe that last couple of hours I spent with Joan holding her hand while she looked me straight in the eye, she knew who I was and more to the point she knew that I cared!

Joan taken at her 60th birthday party.


I have not been into the garden much in the last few days, it has been a bit too cold and my fibromyalgia has been very hard to control pain wise so I have had a few lazy days.
Tony is working in his office putting in new furniture and decorating, so there are strange bangs and words coming out of there, best to stay out of the way.

Chris has been over to see me he is still enjoying his new job, Emma is ok and I even saw Oliva and Aron they both gave me a big hug its nice to be a grandma sometimes. I hear from Lynsey most days she is doing well at college passing exams with flying colours well one of them had to get the brains of the family.

Hopefully next time I will have something happier to write about, I hope to be back out with my cameras soon and to take some photos to share with you, until then I wish you all good health.

New gizmos and gadgets...

Tony bought himself a brand new Bushnell Trophy Camera yesterday, so not being one to be left out I took delivery of a new iPad mini today.

This of course will come in very handy down in the shed, I can write down things I need to remember, I can keep up with my blog as things happen! I can post them straight to the net as it happens, how good is that? 

Tony is planning where the best place for his. Bushnell is, he put it out last night and guess what he got?..  Yes next doors cat...

The Bushnell is a lot better camera than the one he had before so it will be trial and error for a few days until he gets it right, but he will have fun trying.

As you will have guessed I am writing my blog on my iPad mini, it is only the smallest the 16gb but it is big enough for me and what I want

Well I have to go set the table now

Oh one thing before I go, I was pleasantly surprised to find I passed my medical I was found unfit for work so I am pleased about that, until I have to repeat it all a again in 12 months.

The squirrels are at it again...

The Squirrels have been trying to be sneaky, climbing over walls and under fences where they don't usually, I think they are trying to outdo each other as well as confuse me, or maybe it a "James Bond" moment...

Anyhow here are a few photo's to show you what I mean...

I will just take this nut!

Mmmm lovely nut!

Oh no she's seen me

She's still watching me

I will sneak along this fence

Walk slowly across the grass

Make a run for it

Oh what's the point? she's still watching me

And all the nuts have gone...

I had a visit to the doctors today, I have been having a few problems with my back and legs.

He suggested I try using 2 sticks instead of one. I will try but that should be fun when I see something I want to photograph. I do have my stick fastened to my wrist so if I get a twitch and let go I don't drop it so I suppose I can do the same with two!

I still have not heard anything from my assessment with ATOS and it has been 4 weeks now! is this a good sign or a bad sign? My doctor told me not to worry about it this morning he doesn't think I have any problem, I should get passed, I wish I had as much faith as he has.

Weight loss & tasty snacks...

Tony and I have been attending health training sessions, the doctor said I needed to lose some weight and told Tony it wouldn't hurt him to go with me! I don't think Tony was amused but seeing as how he does the cooking it was a good idea.
Today we went for our last appointment, we have been going for 12 weeks we are both pleased to be able to say we have lost half a stone or just over. I have lost 2 1/2 inches round my waist so I am happy with that and we both intend to carry on trying to lose more!
I am really pleased because one of the tablets (Gabapentin) that I have to take is well known for putting on weight and I am on a high dose, so the health trainer said I should be really proud of myself for losing the weight. I am still eating chocolate as well! Only the fun size bars just 2 a week but it means I am not depriving myself of something so I don't crave it. Tony can still have a glass or two of wine with his meals so he is happy with that.
We both agree the biggest changes we made were portion sizes and eating more often. That may sound silly but we both ate very little during the day then had a large meal at teatime. We now both eat breakfast, a snack mid morning, a small lunch, a snack mid afternoon and a light meal on an evening. The snacks can just be a piece of fruit or a smoothie but we have something, so now we have less to eat but spread out over the day instead of just in one big meal. The other thing is water neither of us drank enough fluids, I now make sure I drink at least 2 litres of water a day. I spend a lot of the time in the bathroom but at least I am healthier.

A while back Lynsey sent me a link to a website called graze.com they deliver healthy snacks by post.
If I used the code Lynsey supplied I received my first box free, never being one to say no to something for nothing I thought it wont hurt to give it a try.
I have had 4 boxes now and so the next one will also be free, for sending me this link in return Lynsey could either have £1 off the cost of her next box or £1 would be donated to The Farming School in Uganda. I hope Lynsey donated the money, I think she will have she is the sort of person that would.
The details of the school are below, if anyone is interested, if you would like to order a free box to try you can use the link below the school details.
After your free box you can then cancel or if you like the snacks you can continue to buy them.(£3.89) If anyone uses the code I will be donating £1 for each use to the school.
When or if you do try the snacks you will be given a code to pass on to anyone you think might like to also try the snacks in doing so this is how a lot of the money is raised to help the school.

The snacks are healthier than chocolate all the time and believe it or not some are tastier!

Our school of farming is based in Kabubbu, a village in the heart of rural Uganda.

Students are taught how to grow, maintain and then harvest fruit from their own trees. Graduates are then given support by Mr. Augustine Napagi (the head teacher) throughout their first few years of farming to make sure their orchards grow as much fruit as possible.

The amazing thing about the school is that it provides our graduates with a sustainable source of income. Each student is given the means to grow food for themselves, their families and to sell at local markets.

Every penny donated to the school is spent on the ground in Uganda so it’s well worth donating your feed your friendsrewards.

http://www.graze.com/p/NNDYFMF


when you go to the website the code you need to enter is  NNDYFMF

The dangerous life of a squirrel...

The young squirrels have been up to some dangerous antics in the garden this week, my heart has been in my mouth just watching them. It is my own fault for putting temptation in their way. As you know Tony built a cross bar for me to hang some coconut halves and feeders on for the birds and squirrels, the squirrels have taken to it so well. I just wish they would take more care. You may understand what I 

 mean if you look at these photos...

His legs are slipping

He's going to fall

There he goes

He's hanging on

Still hanging on

He's climbing inside

He's going to fall

There he goes

He's landed on his feet

No harm done

Only to my nerves, it's no easy job being responsible for a garden full of squirrels. Oh and yesterday we had two new visitors smaller than the usual ones more babies where is it going to end?

Christopher has been back to the hospital his finger is healing ok he should be back at work on monday.
Lynsey seems to have been ok this week, apart from her cat deciding to spend a morning screeching at the living room wall, (apparently she thought something may have been living in it!)
I am still waiting for the third accident it hasn't happened yet so hopefully it isn't going to.

I have treated myself to a fleecy hoodie for sleeping in this week, it comes down to my knees has a pocket on the front to put both my hands in and Tony thinks I am crazy! He tutted at me when he saw it for the first time "I don't know why you don't just wear an overcoat" he said. I just feel the cold more than he does...
I would recommend one to anybody that feels the cold, £7.00 from Primark.

The rain keeps falling...

I kept watching the birds in the garden and thinking what I could do about the food I put out.
As quick as I put it out the rain was washing it away, then I thought about how we put a brolly out when it snowed to keep the dishes under cover. So I decided to try it, I put the big sun brolly over the seed table, I had to move the suet ball feeder as it didn't hang properly so I fastened it to one of the wooden arms inside the brolly. I then hung one of the coconut shell halves under there as well. I filled the coconut shell with peanut butter, filled the table with seed, then waited inside the shed to make sure that it would work that the seed would keep dry.
I kept shuffling across the garden to check the seed, after twenty minutes I decided it was going to work so I went back upstairs to the flat. At least the birds would get something now the rain would not wash it all away. While I had been down in the garden I had filled the two nut boxes so the squirrels had plenty of nuts, at the last count we have five squirrels visiting at once it's like the "keystone cops" when they are all there together.

Tony shouted me into the kitchen I looked out of the window and this is what I saw...

I guess the squirrels wanted to keep dry too!

Lynsey phoned me the other day, (she makes me laugh at times,) for those of you who don't know Lynsey has epilepsy.

She said to me "I must have thrown myself on the floor" (that means she has had a seizure,) "I have broken my front tooth, but I can't find the bit thats broken off", My guess is she must of swallowed it!

Later I received an email containing this...

Lynsey is not happy the dentist say's it is not an emergency so she cannot be seen until November.

I think I would be finding a new dentist!

Christopher called as well I think it might have been the same day, he called to tell me he was at A&E,

he works in a kitchen, Chris had managed to cut his finger, apparently the tip of his left index finger was hanging off. He had been cutting some spit roast the knife had slipped , it had sliced through his nail and carried on through his finger.  He called me to let me know he had been seen they had cleaned his finger up it was wrapped up tightly in a dressing he is on antibiotics and has to return to the hospital on friday. 

I am now just waiting for the third thing to happen everything comes in three's.

My future decided in 20 minutes...

Today I went for an assessment with ATOS HEALTHCARE to see if they think I am fit for work...


I took all the information I could think of to take with me to show all the problems I suffer with,
photo's of swellings (not pretty)
medications taken
medical history
hearing aid booklet for Tinnitus
Partner for when I forget things

The doctor was hard to understand as she was not english,
she asked some questions that I had already answered on the form, in several different ways.
She told me she would do a memory test which consisted of
what day is it
what date is it
where are you
Then she did a physical examination
lift your right leg
lift your left leg
squeeze my fingers
hold out your hands palm up
turn your hands over
Thats it we have finished.

On just that they will decide my future.

When we arrived home there was a parcel outside the door for Tony.
Inside there was a letter for me, written on the envelope by the postman were the words

PACKAGE OUTSIDE!

At least that made us smile.

The joy of seeing the Reds at last...

We have just had a week in Scotland, staying in a caravan at Beauly. The view from the window was I have to admit amazing, we could see Red Kites flying but they just never came close enough to photograph. However the Reds I am talking about are not the kites oh no!

These Reds are something I have dreamt of seeing on every visit to Scotland, I have walked so many woods looking for them, read up on them till my eyes ached but never managed to see one, except the one running across the A9 as we left Scotland last time we were there!

This time though I finally managed not only to see but  "oh yes" to photograph a Red Squirrel.
All this was made possible by being shown the secret place on The Black Isle found by a very clever and patient man "Squirrel James" If he had not spent all the hours sitting and waiting and watching for the beautiful little red fluffy creatures, My lovely brother Bassman could not have taken us to the secret place to show us where to see them.
You can both be assured the secret is safe with us Tony and I loved seeing the Red Squirrel so much we went back for another look Bassman told us it would be fine and I did leave a message on Squirrel James camera to which I hear I am now a star on face book. Thanks again to both of you.

Enough of this waffling on any way what you really want to see is the pictures...

 These two were from the first day.

All the others I took the second time

 The Squirrel and Tony playing hide & seek

 This is the only Deer we managed to find.

Excitement in the garden...

Today has been an exciting day in the garden for photography, this morning we had visits from the squirrels three of them at once.
I didn't manage to get them on camera all at once but just seeing them together was fun and then one of them came onto the fence between our garden and the downstairs garden so I got some close shots while the Squirrel sat and posed so nicely for me...

The Squirrels played for a while longer then had something to eat before disappearing away up the wall to wherever they go when they leave the garden.

 

Not long after the Squirrels had left Tony shouted from the kitchen, "Soo quick bring a camera, the hawk has taken something from the feeder"

I rushed into the kitchen (well as much as you can call it rush the speed I move) the Sparrowhawk was down on the floor covering it's catch, I took quite a few photo's so I would manage at least a couple of decent photo's. As we found out the unfortunate bird was a young Starling...

So the garden is a Starling less, it is not a pretty sight but it is nature it happens and it does make excellent photographs.

I can't wait for tomorrow to see what happens in the garden...