tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154374182024-03-07T08:48:44.386+00:00Rocking Chair Reflectionsa mother's musings from Middle England.......Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.comBlogger1774125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-10473824642382437362017-01-13T13:01:00.000+00:002017-01-13T13:01:07.479+00:00And 2017 is underway............
2017 - can you believe we are now into the late teens of the new millennium? It seems only yesterday that we were worrying about entering the new century. And nearly 2 decades are past. How did the happen? A question I seem to be asking every day.
Christmas and New Year were quiet times around here, but lovely nonetheless. And, as I said last time, technology played a major roll in linking Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-12543277238697777942016-12-24T10:03:00.000+00:002016-12-24T10:03:27.532+00:00The very best part of the year ........
Meet little Lucky.
Before he was born, Missy referred to him as Lucky. In fact she insisted that this was going to be his real name when he was born. And so, it is actually lovely that I can use that as his name here on the blog.
In this photo, he was just a few days old. He is now 7 months, with twin dimples and gleaming eyes, and a huge grin. Hair growing and chewing Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-83428706843488400772016-12-23T12:14:00.002+00:002016-12-23T12:14:47.589+00:00A surprise for those who still pop in......Hello, you lovely loyal people. And thank you for the emails, messages, tweets and all the other inventive methods of communication that you have used to check on me over the past umpteen months - I am here, and trying to remember how to make this blog creak into life again.
It may be a little basic for a while.
So much has happened. So let me start at the beginning.
In March, I went to visit Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-61633377974788072882016-02-10T10:06:00.002+00:002016-02-10T10:07:09.978+00:00Daffodils etc........
Good morning!
These daffodils are in full bloom on the roadside in the next village - there will be nothing left for Spring! This is a very strange winter indeed.
Life in Middle England is poddling along in a slightly frenetic way, what with teeth, appliances and all the rest. But I am happy to report that the new dryer is in place. It arrived in the middle of pancake Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-91069879393464838222016-02-03T17:13:00.001+00:002016-02-03T17:13:26.747+00:00In which I continue the white goods search......
Our exciting routine has meant yet another dentist appointment (Mum) today, and that was followed by a quick trip Down South to get a few things from Ikea, Tiger and John Lewis. Like a tumble dryer to actually enable us to have dry clean clothes. An essential, one feels.
My constant dithering makes these epic trips. Where is the woman who used to do the research, decide on an Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-31863593935989032052016-02-02T11:04:00.000+00:002016-02-02T11:04:15.226+00:00And it is February already......
The days, weeks and now months are flying by at speed. The weather is totally off course here, and we have spring bulbs in flower and the blossom on the trees is opening more by the day. Heaven knows what this will mean to the actual spring and planting, and BUGS....
These are photos of flowers in my garden, taken in January. The garden should be in winter sleep mode in January, and wouldn't Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-63714713448478339402016-01-20T16:13:00.002+00:002016-01-20T16:15:52.396+00:00Appliances, juggling and purple nails.....
You are all so sweet. I wish you could show up in the library on Friday to join us! I just get so frustrated by some younger specimens making assumptions about what those who may be slightly older are capable of doing. I tend to see it as older people having way more experience from which they can draw.
But moving on......
I am in the middle of Strategic Planning. I swear I could Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-7125102226713472582016-01-19T13:34:00.000+00:002016-01-19T13:34:10.141+00:00A little snow, and my Library Girls.......
Well, good morning to you all from a chilly Middle England.
We (unexpectedly) had our first snowfall of winter on Saturday night. You know how you can check the weather app on our smart phones now? Well, I love checking what it is doing in all the places where I have loved ones, so it is a global feast of differences, and sure enough, approaching midnight on Saturday night, it saidLindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-86407486471403873812016-01-12T10:56:00.000+00:002016-01-12T10:56:02.444+00:00Getting ready......
Good morning, all!
We have glorious sun, blue skies and it is COLD.
Hallelujah, winter is arriving.
The daffodils are blooming everywhere, hellebores are in flower and snow is forecast for us all this week. In fact, if some newspapers are to be believed, the coldest winter in 58 years is upon us. Yeah, right. Like last summer was supposed to be the hottest in living memory.
We Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-7999301800073815502016-01-04T08:46:00.001+00:002016-01-04T08:46:37.048+00:00Adventures.....
Good morning - This was dawn yesterday. Beautiful, isn't it? But that pink sky was accurate. Within an hour or two, the rain came and it was a really foul grey and wet day weather-wise. However, the dawn was stunning!
A new year brings with it many resolutions, good intentions, plans, and changes. Well, it brings dreams of all these things. The reality is slightly less spectacular. Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-17222495548900863422016-01-01T16:06:00.002+00:002016-01-01T16:06:40.166+00:00Trying......
Thank heavens for tech friends like Sandra who sent me a video of what to do! What a superstar!
And thank heavens that video will still be there tomorrow when I will have forgotten all the details....
I will be back.
Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-24313451673735966992016-01-01T13:05:00.000+00:002016-01-01T13:05:06.409+00:00Happy New Year from Middle England!
Happy New Year from my home to yours!
I have been trying to post a few photos but I cannot navigate my way around the new Flickr way so I may have to start a new blog somewhere, get my own website or something.
Whatever.
Challenges and I are well acquainted.
It has been a long time. I know. Stuff happens, energy runs out, sometimes things have to be set aside for a Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-28692930726416185162015-08-18T13:25:00.003+01:002015-08-18T22:45:34.236+01:00For The Love...................
As most of you will know, I was lucky enough to be chosen to be one of the #500 - the launch team from around the globe, for Jen Hatmaker's new book. And in the process of doing just that, we, the #496 (women) and the #bandoffour (men) have become living proof of what community can do to people. The support, the laughter, the generosity, the love - just overwhelming. What an Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-57498111382713470392015-08-07T12:39:00.001+01:002015-08-07T12:39:43.472+01:00Snippets, and banishing CoCo.........
The sun is making an as yet feeble attempt to shine today, but I live in hope. Apparently summer is on its way back after going AWOL for a long while, and this weekend could be bright. Warm.
How lovely that would be.
This is England, however, and the weather does what it feels like doing, with scant regard for things like SUMMER.
The beans are so late this yearLindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-11583347713583609612015-08-05T10:49:00.003+01:002015-08-05T10:49:46.604+01:00The mountains suit me well........
It has been a very busy time here over the past week - especially the weekend. Last Sunday, all 4 of the younger generation members of my family, as in 3 kids and one daughter-in-law, were all in different countries. I have an adventurous family, it seems. Germany, England, Switzerland and New Zealand.
So there was a fair amount of zapping all over the place, which means that I am stillLindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-56918961786599980982015-07-29T12:33:00.003+01:002015-07-29T12:33:37.682+01:00And then I took a flight....
To the Alps.
I didn't actually tell anyone there that I was arriving, so I had a "quiet", "relaxed" trip across Europe , which included flight delays, via car, train, bus, wheelchair, plane, wheelchair, train, train and then arrived, rang the doorbell and listened to the surprised laughter, before I reminded my sister that actually entering the house would be good.
Surprises Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-59268505388824507242015-07-26T11:52:00.000+01:002015-07-26T11:52:46.778+01:00North of the Border, Part 2.........
The sun shone quite frequently while I was on the east side of Scotland. It rained even more frequently, but we will concentrate on the sun. And, to be quite honest, I really couldn't care about the weather, because Cheryl and I are always quite happy to be ensconced in front of the fire with stuff to read, puzzles to do, scrabble to play and laughter and endless conversation to keep us busy. Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-19807171633735598032015-07-24T12:21:00.001+01:002015-07-24T12:21:54.363+01:00Scotland.......
So I went to Scotland. It has been way too long since I was last there, and I have friends on both sides of the country who were happy to have me to stay, so off I went. The trip up was the day after the general election, so the entire time travelling, listening to analysis and debate, was enough to make one contemplate emigration. To a desert island. Population One. Me.
I Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-66567612081594349532015-07-22T12:25:00.000+01:002015-07-22T12:59:21.675+01:00Hello, world, I am back......
Once you have stopped rubbing your eyes, and have picked yourselves up off the floor, and adjusted your specs, yes, it is me. Hello! (Waving from my study in Middle England). I have not been abducted by aliens, nor have I wandered off on an epic plod around the world (yet), but life has been a bit complicated. Time, as my mother always says, flies so much faster when you are older. HeavenLindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-43609520780301121962015-03-19T13:27:00.001+00:002015-03-19T13:27:58.579+00:00Diana is commissioned, and I join a launch team..........
It has been an exciting week around here. I will tell you about the launch team in a second - but first, the best part was Diana being commissioned today in her new role in the church. There were 3 bishops and an archbishop in attendance, and the archbishop joked that he may as well make her a bishop for children - she was relieved when he resisted the temptation! So she is officially Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-86334070046856185632015-03-11T18:03:00.001+00:002015-03-11T18:03:24.360+00:00Definitely Spring......
It definitely feels like Spring around here - the sun is shining and the skies are blue, and the seedlings on the windowsill are growing and I am going to go and get some compost this afternoon.
Well, it is Senior's Day - Wednesday - at the DIY store, and 10% off sounds good to me.
The house is as Spring as it will be getting this year, apart from the Easter tree which I will Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-15672540454708208262015-03-04T12:16:00.000+00:002015-03-04T12:22:36.524+00:00A blur.....
The last few weeks have flashed by in a blur. Diana came home from Switzerland and had 8 or 9 days of doctors, physio, a trip to London to say goodbye to her friends, and then family all gathered here, and more goodbyes. Our friends came down from Scotland as well, and up from Kent, and as I said, it was all a blur.
There was also packing and re-packing and packing the shipping Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-26533834248186509962015-02-13T13:10:00.000+00:002015-02-13T13:10:25.368+00:00Friday the 13th is a wonderful day in this family........
Friday 13th February.
A date for celebration, rejoicing, and, contrary to ridiculous superstition, a very, very lucky day for our family.
I remember another Friday 13th, a few decades ago - the one when my daughter was born. Not that she was due to arrive that day - she was 10 days early. In fact, as I am sure I have mentioned annually ever since, when I went to see my Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-24569098590662081002015-02-12T14:52:00.000+00:002015-02-12T14:52:53.418+00:00A little hectic around here......
Thursday - somehow, today has turned out to be over-packed with things to do, so I have called a halt to those things and am taking a break.
Diana is still in the Alps, having a wonderful time in stunning weather - you know the kind - white snow on mountains, blue skies and plenty of sun. Yes. That. It is lovely that the weather is behaving. And also lovely that she can have time with Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15437418.post-89297964750435596322015-02-05T15:05:00.000+00:002015-02-05T15:05:38.329+00:00Wherein we discover Bill's...........
Day 2 in London brought grey damp weather, but, nothing ventured, and all that, so we checked out of the hotel and headed to the place Diana's had found while lying in bed at an early hour. She googled "Pancakes Covent Garden". And hit the jackpot.
But first, let me tell you how we got there. On the bus again. We hopped on to the bus, and sat down in the same place we had been sitting the Lindshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141761866483224572noreply@blogger.com4