I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy & Healthy New Year

THEFT ALERT

PLEASE BE AWARE THERE HAVE BEEN THIEVES ABOUT ON THE LANE.

NEW DAWN WAS BROKEN INTO AND A CAMERA AND KEYS TAKEN. IT APPEARS THERE MAY BE A LINK TO A GREEN SALOON CAR SEEN AROUND ON A COUPLE OF OCCASIONS CONTAINING SOME FOUL MOUTHED UNPLEASANT YOBS WHO TOLD A 7 YEAR OLD TO F**K OFF! IF YOU NOTICE IT PLEASE JOT DOWN THE DETAILS,MODEL MAKE AND MOST IMPORTANTLY REGISTRATION & RING IT IN TO THE POLICE WHO ARE INVESTIGATING.

SAD TO SAY THIS BUT LOCK EVERYTHING UP

A WORD OF WARNING TO THOSE COMMITTING THESE DESPICABLE CRIMES....YOU'LL WISH YOU'D BEEN ARRESTED IF WE CATCH YOU AT IT!!

I CALL IT KARMA & I SINCERELY HOPE YOU LOT GET YOURS SOON.

The wonderful Aunty 'D' is 85years young!

Any excuse for a gathering these days, but last weekend was a real event for the maternal side of the family. My truly wonderful Aunty 'D' reached the grand age of 85years old! As my mother Joyce's younger sister she is the last one standing from her generation...The Matriach of a very large family. My sister Sharon and I travelled down to Bexhill-on Sea for the celebrations. My cousin Ro's children were there (well most of them) with their families and the 'do' was arranged by cousin Janice at The Mermaid on the seafront. Bubbly, balloons, disco, karaoke, buffet and cake   what more could you ask for. The kids had a great time and we all got to meet the latest arrivals to the ever growing family circle, 13week old Max born to Julia and Anthony and 3 week old Joshua, born to Jason and Vicky. Joshua is Janice's first Grandchild and of course she is besotted! We are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Gemma's first baby who will be the first KIWI in the family.

The wonderful Birthday Girl

Sharon and Janice

The wonderful Will Sullivan did a turn for us on Karoake after much poking and torment by Sharon and myself (not to mention some throat lubrication from the bar) He did an admirable rendition of Tom Jones's SEX BOMB complete with hip wiggling gesticulations. He got screams of delight and applause but sadly no underwear for his efforts. Good thing too as most of the undies worn that day were support wear and would have caused serious injury if thrown!!! His two daughters Sophie and Megan watched in open mouthed amazement at their superstar Daddy....what a great thing to do, they will remember that forever.

Will...Sex Bomb ! Video to follow soon..

We sang Happy Birthday and Janice lit the candles on the cake...they were erupting jets of sparkling flame and went on for quite a while. No hope of blowing them out and it smelt like bonfire night for a little bit but what a fabulous effect.

The DJ was an interesting chap, stage name Dan The Man he was complete with fake tan, dyed hair and bright green jacket. He was a bit scary really and loved the sound of his own, often discordant voice. I know it's cruel but Sharon and I couldn't help but laugh at the spectacle...especially when he grabbed Janice to dance!! Sharon decided to torment poor Anthony and made him dance with her, his discomfort was obvious and gave me great delight to watch and I was not alone in this. The Williams girls have all been blessed with the wicked Woodhouse genes for tormenting and they all enjoyed the menfolks squirming. They are a credit to their Mum Ro and Dad John who would have been so proud of them all. They all seem to have stuck together after the dreadful loss of their parents and such courage and fortitude in the face of adversity is a rare thing nowadays. Aunty 'D' had a bit of a bop and made a very touching thank you speech, reinforcing how special the bonds of family and friends are.
We headed off to our hotel for a late supper with Ro's kids and their families and stayed up till late in the bar having a whale of a time reminiscing and laughing.
Up next morning and got together for breakfast before a few sad goodbyes to the kids and off to meet Janice for coffee. Had a look around her lovely flat in Bexhill and went to the Italian downstairs for a super latte.
We had a little time to spare so on the spur of the moment popped up to say Bye bye to Aunty D who was delighted to see us. She was looking really well surrounded by loads of cards,gifts and flowers and we sat and had a lovely chat for half an hour. She is fantastic in every way, always with a smile and never a hint of self pity, refreshing in an elderly person. She attributes her longevity to her bad habits which these days are mainly Gin and Cigarettes!!
She was telling us that when she was a teenager she envied our Mum Joyce (her elder sister) because she had auburn hair and dimples....she especially wanted dimples and would go to sleep with her fingers deeply pressed into her cheeks to try to get some! It wasn't until she started her first job when someone said how beautiful her hair was that she realised she was a real flaxen blonde...without the bottle. I always envied my cousins for their bubbly, warm and loving Mum and it's lovely to still have my special aunty around. I reminded her that she incurred my mum's displeasure when she bought me my first Bra, knickers and suspender belt (no tights invented then) I remember them well, white cotton with little pink rosebuds on and I thought I was so grown up. It's a real milestone for a girl and I have my Aunty 'D' to thank for that and for so much more throughout my life.
Hopefully we will all get together next year for her 86th birthday and the way things are looking we'll do it for many more than that, I truly hope so.To spend time with my wonderful sister is one of my life's real treasures, we are so in tune it is spooky, I don't have to explain my jokes or witty remarks and we often say the same thing at the same time! We bounce off each other and become a real double act when in company and it is just wonderful. I love her like I love no-one else, she is my beautiful, sparkling, sister and I know she loves me right back!
These are special gifts that no amount of money could buy and oh my,  I am so grateful to be so blessed.

A wedding in a seafront castle....

Wow what a weekend we have had...we sadly had to miss Sandy Lane Fete as we were invited to a family wedding. Andy's brother Gareth married his long time love, the beautiful Fran on Saturday. We drove down on Friday night and all met up for a meal and a chin wag.We unloaded the van at the best man's house as we had all the band gear and then spent a relaxing night in a very nice hotel in portsmouth. Next morning we set up the band in the marquee inside the keep of Southsea Castle. Had a bite to eat and then donned our finery for the wedding. It was truly lovely and Fran looked stunning in her white dress with black detailing...the whole theme was black and white and it looked chic and elegant.

 In the evening we danced our socks off to Joe Schmo veven 80years old Betty,Andy's Mum got up for a bit of a bop!! Gareth sang Sweet Home Alabama with his brother and fulfilled a lifelong dream! They were great together too.We had a late night and after a nice sleep we packed up next morning and headed home to Wales. Back to work on Monday for everyone(except of course the honeymooners). Great times and with every birth or union our family grows and that is indeed a blessing.

Scrumping apples!

This may be hard to believe but little Tink just loves fruit,but she especially loves apples. Recently if left to her own devices we come home to find bits of fruit, apples, peaches, banana, plums, pears etc all over the living room because she just can't resist them. We have to put them well out of her reach to stop her. She will beg and drool if I eat an apple in front of her and gets most upset if I don't share.We have a curving low branched apple tree in the garden over the steps that is laden with cooking apples....well it was! she Up until nowhasn't really eaten loads of fruit but over the last three days we have found the cooking apples all over the garden in various stages of consumption, Tink has also had a very upset tummy (not funny with a little fluffy bottom)....mmm I wonder why? After a few emergency trips to the shower, I watched her carefully yesterday from the bedroom window and to my astonishment she was taking a flying leap off the bank at the overhanging branch and snapping at the closest apples!!! She got three and was just carrying off the last prized one by the stalk in her mouth so it looked like a big green dummy, when I intervened and nicked them back. She yipped and yapped at me so much you'd have thought I had stolen her dinner. No more fruit for her...I harvested all the lowest apples and moved the fruit indoors even further out of reach. I gave her a very plain dinner,breakfast and supper tonight and I think we have solved the problem of the little scrumping Tinkerbell!!

A day for the girls...

I was off work on Tuesday and Karl asked if I could have Hannah and Megan for the day. I of course said yes as these days I don't get much time with them on my own. They popped down in the morning and we talked about what we should do with the day. By 11.00am it was getting warm but still overcast so we decided to go to Singleton Park with Tink first and then onto Blackpill if the sun came out.
We packed the bags and climbed aboard the trusty Gerty and drove to Singleton Park. We parked the car and went to the playground first, not Tink of course  she and I watched from the fence. We walked over to the boating lake and the girls were horrified that Tink did a poo and I picked it up with a poo bag. I showed them the doggy bins and explained that dog poo is not nice to tread in and can sometimes cause diseases especially for children. They nodded thoughtfully and agreed it was best to pick it up but both said they weren't going to do it!
We all decided it would be fun to paddle a dragon boat so we paid our money and climbed aboard..a photo opportunity if ever there was one. Thankfully no-one had a camera! Tink sat on my lap and Hannah and I paddled and Meg sat in the middle and steered. We paddled around in a bit of a zig zag pattern, I believe the correct term would be 'tacking' but there was nothing correct about it, we terrified a large swan boat full of an Indian family who had to take evasive action to avoid a collision. We got caught in the overhanging trees and had to stretch up and paddle backwards to disentangle ourselves. Tink wanted to chase the geese,ducks and anything else on the lake but I explained she was not related to anyone holy and it was unlikley  that she would actually be able to walk, let alone run, on water and I was going to keep a tight hold on her. She caused oohhs and aarghs from everyone who seemed to think it odd that my little dog was loving her first boat trip! We paddled on Meg screamed at a floating bit of wood....did she think it was a shark perhaps, who knows. Our ears were ringing and our legs were aching so we headed for the mooring point. Getting out was no more graceful for me than getting in but I made it without falling in.
We played a round of crazy golf, gave Tink a drink of water and then moved onto the bouncy slide and a roundabout ride. After all that we walked the perimeter of the lake and went to lunch in The Pub On The Pond and very nice it was too.

Super fast sliding!!

We packed up and headed for the Lido at Blackpill, parked Gerty in the shade and crossed the road. We found a shady spot right by the pool under the trees and the girls were straight in after slapping on lots of sun cream. I went to the shop and bought a big inflatable ring which the girls in the shop kindly inflated for me and a fresh bottle of water. The girls loved the ring and Tink loved the water!
I started to read my book but after a few minutes I noticed Tink was caught by the foot on the blanket, on closer inspection I found to my horror that she was attached by a fishing hook with 10inches of line still attached. I gently freed her from the blanket and inspected her little back foot....the hook had just nicked the skin but was totally embedded in her thick fur. I had visions of rushing to the vet but stopped panicking and went over to the shop who lent me a pair of scissors and I snipped the fur to remove the offending hook. How careless of the fisherman to leave that nasty thing lying around, thankfully no harm came to Tink thanks to her fluffy little feet but it could so easily have been a child and that would have been a different story.

Little Tink worn out after her day out!

After several hours of fun we were ready to go home and cook...the girls favourite pastime with Nanny.
We called into Mumbles and picked up some fresh strawberries and the ingredients for a nice stir fry for tea.
The girls chopped and sliced and diced and stirred and soon we were sat out on the patio eating with Gandy, Dan and Lyndsey. A nice bath and hair wash and then Gandy and I walked Tink and the girls back up Karl to put them to bed.....they both kised me goodnight and said thank you for a lovely day, Meg said I was the best Nanny in the whole world and Hannah said she thought so too. I thanked them both for being such good girls and making it such a fun day for me too.
My beautiful girls  make me very proud and I treasure our special times together...I am very blessed and I am thankful.

What gets me through.....

I never stopped to think about what gets me through tough situations but yesterday as I was describing my MRI scan experience to Andy I realised with utter clarity how things impact on me and how I get through them. When I was a child my Dad was my protector from the scary things in life,  he protected me from everything, but his own terrible violent temper. He believed in being strong and showing weakness was a definite no no. By the time I was thirteen I could certainly look after myself in all areas of my life and also was used to looking after my gentle,  scaredy cat, little sister Sharon. From then on I was fiercely independent and feisty and I took care of myself. Having children of my own brought out the lioness in me and my role of protector was even more reinforced. This has stayed with me and all my kids and grand children know that they are safe with Mum/Nanny whatever happens. I know that the end of my second marriage came when I was 8months pregnant with Kaye and got into an altercation with my ex husband. Unbelievably her Dad who was present at the time did nothing when my ex husband went to hit me and pushed me. I for once was not physically able to defend myself although I did give him a good crack back. I never felt the same about Kaye's dad after that. When he should have grown a pair and stood his ground he didn't. Shortly after Kaye was born we separated and divorced. I'm rambling on a bit now but this all fits together. My beloved Andy earned my respect and admiration very soon after I met him, we were just friends at the time and he stepped in to intervene between a violent boyfriend and myself, despite the fact he was only half his size. He has consistently shown his metal over the 27years + we have known each other and for that I will eternally admire and respect him. I realised while I was inside the noisy,claustrophobic MRI scanner that it was him I was closing my eyes and thinking of to quell the awful rising panic that was trying to engulf me. The whole thing lasted nearly 20minutes and for the whole time I had to resist the urge to press the panic button and control my urge to move. I kept on thinking that it was all OK as Andy was sitting waiting for me,  just outside and that I would be alright. When I did emerge and leave the room, there he was,  as I knew he would be and when he put his arms around me I felt as though a burden had lifted from me. Later that night I tried to explain the insight I had had and told him that I felt that he was there to protect me when I needed it....his reply was simply, "but I always have been." I feel so blessed to have him in my life and mercifully I don't need much protecting as those of you who know me will be fully aware. But knowing he is there for me when I need him to be, that he has always got my back is the kind of blessing that brings security and strength to my life and I am thankful for the honest, brave, caring, dignified and fun man that is my husband Andy.

My ROCK..in every sense!

Smile and the world smiles with you......Look at this pic!

This is the gorgeous chuckle of my super cute grandson Sebastian....after the sadness of yesterday it really cheered me up.

Babies smiles are just sooo gorgeous! There is something magical about a little one laughing and no matter who you are you just have to smile too.

Little Grace knows that every time a baby laughs a fairy is born.....what a lovely thought.

Now I feel all warm and fluffy and yes... I AM SMILING.

Meandering

One of my greatest pleasures is walking my little pudding Tink. We meander about looking at all sorts of things that are local to us. It never ceases to amaze me how friendly other people are when you have a dog! People who would usually not even acknowledge you or at best give a nod suddenly become effusive and friendly about the bouncy little Tink! Children are especially attracted to her as she is small and cute and not at all threatening, she loves the kids and is very used to them because of all the Grandchildren.

Little Tink meandering

I see my friends and neighbours around the lane too and get a chance for a chat and a catch up. It is also an opportunity to see the changes on the lane itself, the potholes that vary from small to huge throughout the year depending on the weather. The wild flowers that come and go from snowdrops and bluebells to greater willow herb and dog roses, the brambles that give us Blackberries in the late summer.

The smell of the elder flowers and may and later the elderberries. Out on the golf course the bright gold of the gorse bushes and paler yellow of the wild broom mix with the lush green of the ferns. As we get out of the lane and look across to the castle it is always a moment to savour no matter what the weather as the beach comes into sight. The white water frothing when the weather is rough or the deep blue sparkling in the bright sunshine always takes my breath away and fills me up in a way that rejuvenates my soul.

Tink of course just spends her time sniffing all the wonderful varied smells and occasionally doing a good meercat impression to try to see a bit more. 

You never know who you're going to bump into and a couple of weeks ago Andy and I were walking after dinner and as we went along by the edge of the lane on the golf course we both jumped out of our skin as a disembodied voice came from the hedgerow calling out Andy's name! We both turned to look and then a head appeared over the greenery and there was Bob, face wreathed in smiles and full of excitement about his latest find during a trip to Hay on Wye. We clambered up the bank to see what this fab thing was....it was a very old advertising sheet on metal from Fender Guitars and it really is extraordinary. Andy took pics with his 'phone and decided it would be great for the basis of a Joe Schmo poster. 

Bob's Fender Ad

Bob had also found some great books on guitars too which Andy also borrowed. Bob has a knack for acquiring interesting curios and objects that are unusual and unique,and he generously shares these delights with his friends.

The marvelous Bob chatting with Andy

Our little meandering walk in the evening sun continued and we watched the sunsetting as we strolled back home.....warm, content and replenished by our surroundings our friends and of course each other. We are truly blessed and grateful for our good fortune.

A Gower sunset

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!