Monday 26th

I've woken up to sunshine yet again. It's another beautiful day and Jasper's ready for a walk. I have some baking to do for my Praise and Play group tomorrow. I've already made some 'birds' nests' and I shall make some bunny biscuits.

Yesterday, we were on coffee duty in church. There didn't seem to be as many people in church as usual, so we thought we'd be quick - not so! The service was good and our new vicar is settling in well. I think he's lovely and just what we need. After church I sat in the garden reading the information for today's exclusion meeting. It doesn't make for nice reading and you wonder how a youngster can end up so disruptive especially as this youngster has every sort of support given and none of them seem to have worked.

Well, I suppose I'd better go and bake my biscuits and enjoy the sunshine.

busy times.

This week has been as busy as ever and I seemed to do everything except housework! I managed 4 strokes on my own at my swimming lesson, enjoyed my art class, had several medical appointments, went visiting an old friend and had a good natter, out for a meal on Saturday with more friends and the usual Praise and Play and Sunday School. The weather has been lovely until today, when it has been cooler and trying to snow. 

Sunday daytime in this household has been declared a computer less day and it's amazing what has been done. This afternoon we sat down and made a list of everything that needed doing, from sorting out the summerhouse to working out a holiday break. It runs to a couple of pages, but we've made a start.

We have a very dear friend who lives in Gagny, very close to Paris, and she has invited us to stay with her. We had suggested getting either a cottage together in England or somewhere in France. However, she now has a little granddaughter to look after each afternoon and also, her dog is very old now and she doesn't want to leave her. SO, we're off to Paris in June. Himself is now working out how to get there. We really fancy going by Eurostar - it's ages since we did that. I'm getting quite excited and nothing's fixed yet.

We met our friend when we were involved in twinning. We took children from our school to stay with children from a school in Villemomble. We have some wonderful memories and made some good friends. Most of all I fell in love with Paris.

My beautiful goddaughter is coming up to stay at the beginning of June, with her two teenage children. I love her very much and wish we lived a bit nearer. She lives in a village outside the beautiful city of Bath. She has an old cottage which is lovely  and works as a health visitor. I'm so looking forward to seeing them all - June is going to be a great month.

It's strange, but our family is so spread out now. My mum and dad were born in Liverpool. Mum was one of 6 and dad just had one brother. Their family were mostly all in Liverpool. 

The first to move was mum's eldest sister who married a ship's carpenter and moved to London. Dad's brother moved to Chester. There were eight of us in the next generation which included me, of course. We are now spread out in Derbyshire, Liverpool, the Wirral, Cheshire, North Yorkshire and Suffolk. The children of our generation are in London, Birmingham, Northallerton, Bath and Sudbury. I wonder where their children will end up.

I do miss them all at times as we all get on quite well, but my cousins are getting on a bit and travel is a problem for them.

Anyway, I shall close for now and maybe reminisce some time.

sorted

Readers of this blog, if there are any, will have noticed yet another break in communication. This was due partly to my busy, manic life recently and partly to my lack of computer skills. My beloved has sorted me out and here I am again.
Today has been glorious - so glorious that I was out of bed at 7.15 am and walking the dog at 9am, having breakfasted, taken laundry out of the drier and put yet more washing into the washer. We had a lovely walk and Jasper ran and ran. We met his friend Rubus, a rather over-weight labrador. (Who am I to talk about being over weight?). Back home, I did two stints of ironing and even found the bottom of the basket. I sat outside in the garden, reading the paper, whilst Jasper ran around chasing flies. The sun was lovely!
I have some papers to read for Monday, when I will be part of a panel for a pupil exclusion. I'm very unsure about it as the two other panel members are very experienced, but I can only do my best. I think they must be scraping the barrel to have me! It's a lot of preparation for a voluntary job. It's very sad that pupils are being excluded from mainstream schools, but some of the behaviour is untenable.
I had a break from my swimming lesson this week as my teacher was poorly. I am so close to swimming by myself, but can't just take off - I get so cross with myself! Everyone says I'm doing well - maybe!

I'm still going to my art class and still waiting to create a masterpiece. I'll put something on my blog when I have done something worthwhile! Watch this space............

There you are - a watercolour I did last year. It is now mounted, framed and hanging on the wall.