A gift from a friend

I walked up the garden early this morning and enjoyed the beautiful scents of the the flowers, sweet peas, roses,pinks and stock. The mallow is burgeoning with deep pink blooms alongside the foxgloves and the about to burst lilies. Blue's garden is coming along really well now and the 'Blue For You' rose is a mass of bluish/lilac flowers that are divinely perfumed. To better savour the tranquility and peace of the garden I sat on the oak bench. It was a kind gift to us in memory of Blue from our lovely friend Mike Prankerd. Mike has a way with wood and creates some extraordinary pieces. The plain simplicity of the bench is perfect, it is solid and stable with a warm golden hue to the wood and somehow reflects the character of the wonderful dog it commemorates.

This is the sort of simple thoughtful kindness that Mike so often comes up with...no bells or whistles just an understated understanding of what is needed. Mike has a real gift and best of all he blesses us by sharing it with us too. Thank you Mike XX

One of Mike's beautiful rustic chairs

You can see some more of Mikes gorgeous chairs here at www.greenwood-designs.co.uk

My cousin Ro

I realised that it would have been my cousin Rosemary's birthday this week and I was sad to think that she was no longer with us. Ro died unexpectedly last year and it was a huge shock to us all. As kids growing up my sister Sharon and I spent a lot of time with the London cousins, Rosemary and Janice. Ro was the oldest, most sensible and gentlest of us all. When we were in our teens we introduced the cousins to our gang of mates and Ro fell in love with our dear friend Johnathon P. Williams (aka 'Willy P') owing to the fact that there were so many Williams's in his school and in those days they were addressed by their surname only. We howled at this and would repeat over and over Willy P....NO HE WON'T. They married young and had many years of happy married life together along with their six beautiful children. Eventually they divorced and Ro met her second husband David Ellis and had her 7th child with him. 

Rosemary and her lovely children

When Rowan was 5 tragedy struck and David died suddenly. Ro was devastated but carried on raising her family. Ro's death was a tragedy for the children but poor Rowan was now without both her parents. My sister Sharon and I attended Ro's funeral and met up once again with Jonathon who declared to everyone that Rowan would always have him. The seven kids supported each other wonderfully through this saddest of times. We left promising to visit Jon in the summer of 2011. I got a cheeky Xmas card from him and then the most awful thing happened, I got the news that Jon had died. He was diagnosed with lung cancer before Xmas and within weeks was gone. 

Jon Williams

It is almost beyond belief that life could be so cruel to one family but they have rallied together and supporting each other are getting on with living,loving and having babies. They are beautiful in every sense of the word and their parents would have been so proud of them. I can't believe that these two people who I shared so much history with are gone from my world, but I do know that I was blessed to have known them and for that I am eternally thankful.

FAT FIGHTERS!

Gradually over the years Andy and I have become rounder and more cuddly, gone are the lean angles of the face that looked so attractive in our youth only to be replaced by an extra chin and accentuated dimples. The slim hips are now well padded 'Love handles' and we are built more for comfort than for speed. I know it is the result of my cooking over the years, we are not junk food eaters but we do revel in good food and wine. Andy is at his most content when sitting at our large family table loaded with delicious morsels from my kitchen, we all sit and eat and drink and chat and laugh with true abandon as we always have done. Sadly this has caught up with our waistlines. 

Our wedding in 1984

This was brought home to me after watching our holiday video. I had bought  a new Black & White swimsuit and we went snorkeling and diving in The Red Sea, while we were doing it I felt light and graceful as I glided through the turquoise water. The camera however does not lie no matter how you 'feel' and we laughed to see a shot of me taken from underwater..I was just like a black and white beach ball with little arms and legs stuck onto it!  We decided then, that we should do something about it to improve our health and well being. What could we do? We both knew that the mathematics were wrong..too much going in and not enough burnt off so we decided to join a weight loss class with Slimming World. Oh my! culture shock...our world is off it's axis. We entered the realm of Little Britain's 'Fat Fighters' unprepared for what was to come...out went creamy welsh butter..in came skinny margarine and spray on frying oil..WHAT!! No cream, no fat, no sugar and measured portions , I didn't know how to cook the recipes in the Slimming Bible and Andy's wallet was unprepared for the huge shopping bill for the new regime.

20+ years together!

Strangely the new food is quite delicious, the recipes easy and varied and I am not hungry..I don't know how this can be but it is. 1 week in and I lost 3 1/2lbs and Andy lost 5lbs. It's a bit of a miracle and I'm looking forward to Thursday's weighing session. Our consultant is effervescent and enthusiastic to say the least..completely, barking mad.It really is like Fat Fighters but we are committed and enjoying it. It would be kind of nice to see those slender bods back again but I am a realist and will be happy to just reduce my weight down to a normal size. We are both blessed that we have the kind of relationship that still sees the other with rose tinted specs and love each other unconditionally but we both agree we'd be happier if there was a little less of us!

The First Born...

No one prepares you for your first born child, you read all the books,listen to everyone's advice and watch all the TV programs about childbirth and parenting but it still overwhelms you like an emotional Tsunami!

My youngest daughter Kaye has recently had her first baby, the absolutely gorgeous Sebastian Andrew and watching her all loved up with him brought back many memories of my own first baby Danielle Jayne.

My first baby Danielle Jayne

It was back in 1973 and I was just 19years old. Those that know me from my youth will know that I was a 'wild child'. I had an easy labour and delivered my tiny little girl with no stitches or problems at all....she was 4 weeks early and weighed 4lbs 10ozs. The Midwife put her in my arms and I looked at the tiny little face and fell totally, overwhelmingly in love, I cried, which in itself was a most unusual event, but crying when sober was unheard of for me! We spent 10days in hospital until she reached 5lbs and I fed her myself every 2 hours. I was exhausted but exhilarated too. From the moment we came home I knew my life would never be the same, some huge fundamental shift had taken place and it wasn't all about me anymore. Danie has been a source of utter pride and delight and also a few tears over the years.Not to mention a few escapades like painting next door's dog GREEN, emptying all the tea out of 144 tea bags, icing the toilet seat with a tube of toothpaste that I then duly sat on! She has the voice of an angel and is also an incredibly intelligent, warm hearted, stunning looking and vibrant person. She excelled in school and college and obtained her Midwifery Diploma and Degree. She has an excellent reputation as a Midwife and is also a qualified NCT advisor. She is currently studying for a further degree in Law and also works part time in a women's refuge. Add to this that she has SIX children ranging in age from 13years to 3years and she has a husband that works away from home during the week it seems unbelievable that they manage to renovate properties in their spare time!!!

She is a fantastic Mum to her kids and I recall after she had her first child, the exquisite little Erin Mae, she was worried that if she had another one she would never be able to love them as much as she did her first.

Danie with her six children

Danie with Erin Mae

It's a funny thing...your first child opens something within you that is like a flowing river and subsequent children are washed and carried in it just as the first one was but, your first born will always be the catalyst that started the well spring of that blessing in the first place.......I LOVE YOU DANIE..and I am blessed to have you as my first born my fabulous Daughter.

My beautiful Danie 2011

Joe Park R.I.P.

R.I.P. Joe Park

It is with a heavy heart that I am passing on the news that Joe Park has died. I know he will be sadly missed by all who knew him and that is a very considerable amount of people, no matter where you were or what you were doing someone there knew Joe! I remember when I moved to Sandy Lane and Joe was comfortable living in his yellow van parked outside of Gerri's. He was wonderful to the kids, but teased them unmercifully; He taught my boys a lot about cars and mechanics and I blame him for their obsession with all things mechanical and my increased washing loads over the years. 
His ingenuity was way beyond anything I had come across before and he was the original 'Bodger' ! He could make something out of nothing and always had a mate who had done it before. The kids got money for sweets and wide eyed entertainment as he regaled them with fantastic tales on every subject under the sun. I can see him now roll up in hand, explaining how to do a gas conversion on a car to Karl and Ashley. He was ever helpful, kind and often feisty. He admired strength of character and individuality. His guffaw of a laugh could often be heard when telling of someone getting their come uppance by whatever means. 
I did hear that the staff in the hospital found him difficult to treat as he kept telling them to f**k off , while I appreciate that this was difficult to manage it was so typical of Joe it really made me smile....he was one of a kind, a real individual and larger than life. The world is a poorer place today without him....Sleep tight Joe.

To Fake Tan or Not To Fake Tan.

Tonight Lula (aka Lyndsey) has gone out with her girlies and in honour of this event she decided to tan it up! Following an in depth discussion with Kaye, she was worried about becoming more of a tangerine than tanned. Kaye suggested using the wash off product instead but Lula was worried it wouldn't come off...in ever helpful Sisterly mode, Kaye assured Lula that she could always strip off in the garden and Kaye would hose her down with the pressure washer!! Lula declined this kind offer and double checked the tube before applying it.
We have had an interesting and varied day all round, Megan fell off her bike and  little Reia came to our house to tell us she was hurt, she was followed a couple of minutes later by a tearful Megan, Hannah and Chelsea. Megan went off from our house complete with muslin sling but came back with full movement of her bruised arm after Karl spent a few hours in A & E getting her checked out. Andy has a wedding gig tonight so left early and Kaye, Simon and Dan joined me for 'Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs' for tea (meatballs & tagliatelle) I have been baking all day, as we are having a little high tea tomorrow to let people meet Sebastian and the house is now full of goodies. Including home made Strawberry Jam and fragrant Rose Petal Jelly.We had to test for quality of course...ooh yummy.

Rose Petal Jelly

Dan and I walked Tink this evening and put the world to rights all the way, we laughed as we walked by Downside to see Meg now fully recovered playing tennis...Kids eh! As we approached the top garden gate Dan paused and we were both captivated by the bush on the left that appeared to be on fire, shafts of light from the setting sun were streaming through and lit it up, as we walked through it my hair and Dan's beard turned flaming orange/red and the sunset showed itself in all it's glory from the vantage point at the top of the garden...my house is called Pretty Suns and this is exactly why.

Dan and The Big Bang Theory!

Tonight we had quite a few of us around the table for dinner, Andy and myself, Dan and Lyndsey, Karl, Hannah and Megan, Kaye, Simon and baby Sebastian. Conversation was bubbling as usual and much tormenting and teasing was afoot from all angles. Dan decided to wind the kids up by telling them that he was a direct descendant of Jesus and that God was his Father....Megan chipped in that Gandi (Andy) was NOT God but "I think he looks a bit like him" this caused gales of laughter at Gandi's expense and led to discussions about the improbability of Dan being a direct descendant of Jesus. He asked me how would I know and without putting my brain into gear I informed him that he was NOT  the result of 'THE BIG BANG' but something else......this caused tears of laughter and I cringed and laughed at the same time. Kaye became helpless and hysterical with laughter while trying to avoid answering the kid's questions about what was so funny! After more giggling we then decided to divert the kids from the subject by setting the challenge of who could touch their elbow with their tongue...as yet it has not been done. Flowing on from this was a session of measuring the comparative length of elbows to wrists and feet (all because Lyndsey said was it true that they measured the same) and we can now safely say that this is a myth...They are NOT the same. We left the table and  in a short while everyone went off home, leaving us with the gorgeous Sebastion Andrew (aka 'Handy Andy') and his Mum and Dad......Oh what blessings we have enjoyed today, good food, much laughter,great company and most of all the closeness that sharing as a family brings. My cup overflows!

Simon, Kaye, Sebastian and Megan

Big cousins Hannah and Megan cooing over Sebastian

Uncle Karl gets a good right hander..he IS his Mummy's boy!

Oh what a week!

It is now Sunday 5th June and I have not even picked up the laptop since Wednesday. The reasons for this lack of cyber communication are many but mainly twofold in the adorable guise of my two Grandchildren Grace (5) and Thomas (4). I have been up at silly o clock every day and not sitting down until my eyes no longer function and my brain is turned to mush from the constant jibber jabber of children's TV programs, games and general small people talk. I have just managed to feed and bath them and walk the dog. We have been to the beach and the lido, to Mumbles and the park. and each trip out had to be organised with military precision to avoid potential disaster. My Nanny skills have been honed over many years and I am affectionately(I hope) referred to as "Naughty Nanny" for my irreverent and often silly antics. I have particular delight in singing songs incorrectly and deliberately out of tune. The kids now sit on the sofa and pretend to be the X factor judges and buzz me off with howls of " That's terrible, your singing is rubbish and other remarks. What really creases me is when they just put their hands over their ears and plead with me to stop. It's cruel I know but it amuses me greatly.

Grace & Tom in the sand boat.

Today we had a celebration lunch for my Mother in law Betty's 80th birthday and I had managed to arrange balloons napkins,cake and even made, yes, home made, properly sewn, bunting. Just because I was outraged at the £1 + per metre that the shops wanted. I popped into Killay charity shop, bought two crisp cotton double quilt covers and made over a hundred metres for approximately £5. It did mean however that some sleep was sacrificed but hey it was worth it.

During lunch I decided to try to make the lovely Lyndsey's long, blond plait float....by attaching helium balloons to it. This soon became a focus of attention as we all tried to figure out how many balloons it would take. In the end it was over 20!

The kids loved all the fun and Betty was overjoyed at her surprise party. Danielle joined us with Erin and Ben and it was lovely to have so many of the family together. I had a real warm and gooey feeling looking around that room full of happy smiling faces and the walls ringing with laughter and music....we are blessed and I am tired but very thankful for these special times of love and deep seated contentment.

IT FLOATS!

Baby cousins Maisie and Kaylan,  enjoying the party

Happy 80th Birthday Betty

A garden cake made by 'Celebration'