I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE

SOMETHING BEGINNING WITH....S.........

That's right......first thing this morning the sun reminded us that it IS still there.
Admittedly it didn't last very long!...but at least we know it's up there somewhere.

Sorry if I sounded a bit "down" yesterday....DirtyButter (who is going through a similar situation as myself) put it well in a comment to me in her own comment box. It seems we are both suffering from Anticipatory Grief..........I found an article about it and one of the paragraphs that stood out for me was;
"During the two years of my husbands terminal illness, my diary was without a doubt, my strongest coping tool, I wrote in it daily, often in the form of poetry, pouring my anger, my fear and my heartache on to the pages. Periodically, I would read back through it and through this I came to know myself very well - later I could see my strength coming through."
This in a way is what I'm doing with my blog; so if I do start pouring out a few woes don't worry....it's actually doing me good!

As it was yesterday ended on a more positive note. Firstly I managed to get the surgery to accept a prescription renewal over the phone...."as a one off, just this time". Then Manda & I gave Mick his kitchen/shower which always perks him up; during the transfer from bed to wheelchair he managed a brilliant bowel action...... and after a peaceful sleep he managed to eat a fair sized main course and chocolate sponge and rice pudding.......quite quickly too! Later in the evening he also DRANK almost a whole bottle of Complan Strawberry Milkshake!!! Great Stuff!!!

At the moment (9am) he is still fast asleep....hence me typing this and not busy with him at the moment. OK so I could be doing some housework but don't want to disturb him.......that's my excuse anyway....LOL

I must quickly update you on Chris's doctor appointment woes. He went down yesterday for the long awaited appointment and was told by the receptionist that "THEY HAD NO RECORD OF IT".......needless to say he was somewhat displeased!!!..........the receptionist explained that as there were only two of them on the desk "THESE THINGS HAPPEN!"............ She was unable to get him in to see the doctor and has now made him an appointment for....NEXT MONDAY.......this will be a full two weeks after he injured his back. No wonder the A&E departments are snowed under with people who really should be seeing their doctors!

Oh look what I've just seen out of the window........................Gotta go..........................

"Blue skies wating for me, nothing but blue skies do I see"

IT'S RAINING AGAIN!

Well another rainy day today; we were so lucky last week that we had sunshine for our trip out as since then it seems to have rained constantly. It's so depressing!!!

With all that's been going on lately I've not really written a proper update of Mick's condition at the moment. When you're living day by day with someone little changes in their appearance can creep up on you unawares. This would have been true of me in the past but now I am so attuned to every slightest thing that just a single extra grey hair would stand out so clearly. Over the past few weeks Mick has had far fewer of those moments when I feel he is really awake and aware of his surroundings; he is peeking less. His hearing still seems very acute as he will rouse slightly at unexpected noises or when I put the phone to his ear for Lynn, Leanne or Ron to speak to him. Mealtimes are becoming two hour marathons. I don't think it's that Mick isn't hungry.........once he has finally swallowed a mouthful of food he is more than ready for another. It is a case of extreme patience and lots of "reheating". He is really only eating two meals a day now although he will sometimes rouse in the afternoon and have a yoghurt; or occasionally have a "midnight" feast. He is losing weight though. That is obvious to the naked eye. He is very anti-fluids. I do my best to get him to drink but his waking hours are so few that it's a case of the odd sip now and again. Of course this means that his urine output is very low and his urine is very strong. In the past even if Mick hasn't had a bowel movement I could tell he needed one....this has changed now...he is giving me no signs of feeling that he needs one.

I am really hoping that the weather improves soon; we went out into the garden yesterday but it was for such a short time before the weather turned against us. Mick does seem perkier when we get outside and the effort involved in getting him out there, even for a short while, is worth it. The days are starting to lengthen now and the colour is starting to creep into the garden. Mick and I would sit for hours by our little pond listening to the frogs as they cavorted in the sunshine. It will be nice if I can get him out there when all that is happening again this year.

A little further news re the hunt for Mick's portrait. DirtyButter my very own Sherlock Holmes, has contacted Libby Moore the artist and she was kind enough to reply. Unfortunately this is not the Libby Moore we are looking for. Still it's one avenue explored and who knows next time......?

Now let's all bask in this glorious sunshine......................

MEME - WHY I BLOG

Sylvia of Life in General and Other Things has tagged me for this meme. So here goes.

• I started my first blog Me, My Life, My Garden primarily as a record of what what happening in the garden that means so much to Mick and I. I'm very new to computers and it helped me find my way around the keyboard too. Seventeen years ago what either of us knew about gardening could have been written on a postage stamp; now we are the gardening helpline for family and friends. With Mick being so ill I wanted to keep some sort of record of what was happening in the garden in the time that we had left together; something for me to look back on whenever I wanted. Keeping a written diary wouldn't have the same effect; on a blog I could make mistakes, spellcheck, update without crossing out things and add photos.
• As time went on I wanted to write more about my life caring for Mick. I decided to separate this from my gardening blog because I found that I started having VISITORS and maybe some of them wouldn't particularly want to read about Mick having a bowel movement in the middle of cooing over photos of a Rhododendron in full flowers. So it was that There Are A Million Stories In The Naked City was born.
• Love A Cosy Unit (an anagram of Can You Solve It) was really started just as a bit of fun. Mick & I have always loved doing cryptic crosswords and I had the idea of doing a crossword clue a day. This slowly evolved and now every once and a while I put a little quiz on there for anyone who fancies dropping by plus there are a few games like Pac Man & Black Jack that I found on Google. My biggest project (for want of a better word) was during the week leading up to Christmas 2006 when every day I put on a different quiz; some for adults and some for children.....I even had a link to Norad so the kids could track Santa on Christmas Eve.
• My Photo A Day was started mainly because I have got hooked on taking photographs. Seems funny really considering I can take so few photos of the outside world! The problem was I knew that my "happy snaps" could in no way compare to the professional looking photos of most of the Photo A Day Bloggers. I decided that to compensate for this I would try and add a thought provoking quote to each of my photos and hopefully draw the eye away from the flaws in my photography.
• Our Sky came about because I just love taking photos of the sky! The problem is I can never decide which one to put on my blog as good or bad each photo is special to me; each one is taken on a day that I'm sharing with Mick. Some of the photos on there may be blurred or badly composed but "so what"....it's OUR SKY!
• My Ruth's Shoots was started because I like to remember (and share) little hints and I tips that Mick & I have picked up during our gardening endeavours. I hoping that over the course of time that other gardenholics like ourselves will leave their own tips (perhaps relating to plants and conditions that we don't have here in England) in my comment box. These I'll post with a link to their own blog and gradually between us all we will build up a Hints & Tips Blog that will relate to gardens from Alaska to Zanzibar.
• My seventh blog............................no I'm only kidding.......................I've not started that....YET!

I'm not going to tag anyone for this meme; how could I choose between all you lovely people. If you do fancy writing a WHY DO I BLOG post; leave a message in the comment box and I'll add your name to this post.

FAMILY PRESENCE AND PRESENTS

The last of the visitors have just left and Mick and I are having a little chill out time. I've put on the Ocean Sounds CD I bought at the garden centre on Wednesday and hopefully Mick is dreaming of a warm, tropical beach as I write this post.

Ahem...less of the scantily clothed young ladies please Mick!!!"

We all had a great time last night. Although it's not officially Manda's birthday until tomorrow, as we were all together she opened her presents. She was really pleased with the Tenacious D DVD I'd bought her and especially excited hat Mick had bought her The Lost Boys DVD (WITH commentary)....

it has been her favourite film for so many years and her old video copy was well past it's "sell by" date.

Lynn & Steve bought her copious amounts of photograph printing paper so AT LAST she will be able to print out the numerous photos she's been taking with the digital camera she got for Christmas.

We all had a turn of the Orgasmatron head massager that Leanne & co bought her. If you enjoy having your hair played with it's a must have toy........





it gives a lovely tingly sensation...








even Mick had a go!

The Chinese take-away was delicious;and we all had massive helpings

though some people did manage a little of the apple flan......in fact Mick managed TWO helpings!

Manda enjoyed her "special" drink.......she loves Southern Comfort.....would you believe this bottle was empty by the end of the evening!!!....even more surprising is the fact she still made it round here at 9am this morning for a cuppa!!!

Sue came over for a drink too during the evening and regaled us all with stories of her childhood........but by 1am we were all ready for bed!

Just time for a sisterly goodnight kiss before Manda & co staggered home.

Manda is a little worried that, as she has such dark hair, she is going to succumb to a "lady" beard and moustache as the years take their toll on her youthful complexion. Last night she was convinced that she could feel a little stubble on her chin................I think it was just the effect of too much alcohol making her imagine things........drink can have that effect........what do you think?????

£50 IN THE KITTY

Just to let you all know Andrew has paid his dues re; the Clatteridge Cancer Campaign. There's still a lot more he and Talj would like to raise so if you can help.......just click on the box in my sidebar.

If you haven't already read it there's more information about what they are doing here;

THE BRITBALL RUN -click and have a look

I've got to add a little update on the Valentine's Day card that I mysteriously received from Mick. I had assumed it was the work of Lynn but she assures me, hand on heart, that neither she nor Steve had anything to do with it. Because of the "love name" used in the card it's got to have been the work of someone in the family but who? Neither Manda nor Leanne said anything to the contrary when I said I thought Lynn had done it.The plot thickens.

THE No Help Service

Now I know it's Friday night and that I've had a wonderful week but I'm going to have a little moan. Poor Chris (Manda's other half) hurt his back playing football last weekend. He struggled on manfully for the rest of the weekend but it didn't improve. He really needed to see a doctor so on Monday morning he tried to phone for an appointment. The system at the surgery is that you have to phone at 8am in order to get an appointment for that day; you cannot phone to make an appointment in advance. Therefore EVERYBODY who wants to see a doctor is naturally hitting their dial button as soon as 8am comes round before the surgery runs out of appointments. When Chris finally got to speak to the receptionist all the appointments were filled. He asked if he could make an appointment for the next day......OH NO...he would have to try again at 8am the NEXT morning and hope to get through in time. No luck Tuesday either...by now he is in agony and his back shows no sign of improvement. So "taking the bull by the horns" he struggled into town and presented himself at the surgery and told the receptionist he was willing to sit there all day if he needed to but wanted to see a doctor. NO LUCK!... he said "What if I come down here at 8am tomorrow will you give me an appointment then?". NO...he would have to phone. Wednesday and Thursday he went through the same routine of phoning with no luck and then going into town and calling into the surgery again! Finally today...no doubt they are sick of seeing him...the receptionist has agreed to book him an appointment for NEXT TUESDAY!!!!!!!

I know we should be grateful that we have a National Health Service; we are one of the few countries that do I believe.....but honestly.....is this the way to run it!!!

Ironically enough one of my Blogfriend's mother had to go into hospital this week. It was expected that she would be out the same day but the hospital decided to keep her in overnight...that's fair enough but then the doctor didn't turn up to discharge her so she was stuck in there another day!! Yet the NHS are always moaning that they are short of beds!

It reminds me so much of when Mick went and had his biopsy. All he wanted to do was come home after we heard the news that nothing could be done. He was so frightened that he was going to die in hospital ....he wanted to be at home with me, the family and sitting in his beloved garden. I went everyday and stayed with him for every second of the visiting times. We would go and sit outside for most of the time...he only had to go back to the ward for his meals and to sleep. We often thought of doing a "runner"! After a week Mick was on the verge of discharging himself when finally the doctor said he could come home the next day. I was over there ready to get him home but then we had to wait until gone 5pm until "somebody" would write his drug prescription. I'll never forget that moment when he walked through the front door so HAPPY!!! As it was Mick only had a further two weeks before he started to loose his speech and physical abilities. How I regret that wasted week he had in that hospital when he was well and fit and away from his little paradise..................

Our garden May 2005

Right deep breath Ruth....end of whinge...

DirtyButter; my very own Sherlock Holmes, has now found out that there is an artist called Libby Moore; if she is the Libby that is Greg's wife it's possible that Henry (the artist) was really a friend of hers. DB has emailed two galleries that sold some of her paintings. There was even one on eBay, but the seller is no longer a registered user, so she has been unable to contact them. She is such an angel with all she is doing.....I feel more hopeful each day as she unravels more of the mystery. She suggested that it may be an idea to put a photo of Mick, as he would have looked around the time of the painting, on my original post. I've done this and shall repeat it here.

MICK

AND IT DIDN'T STOP THERE!

Yesterday MrsNesbitt left a comment on M.M.L.M.G. saying to watch tomorrow's post. Hm...(I thought) I wonder what she's putting on her blog tomorrow that she wants me to particularly see. This morning when I got up I had a quick look...nothing yet......still yesterday's post. I thought I'll take a look later.
Mick woke up, ate breakfast etc. It's very rainy and after a busy day yesterday and with a busy, fun filled, visitors weekend ahead (in celebration of Manda's birthday on Monday) I thought I'd leave him in bed and let him rest. I was just having a tidy up when the mail came. There were quite an assortment of letters but one envelope stood out amongst the rest. It was a lovely shade of pink, with decoration on it and felt quite thick. I opened it and what did I find inside.................

Aren't they lovely and all handmade; Mrs N you're a sweetheart...I thought I'd had enough nice surprises yesterday to last me a lifetime...and now I've had more! I certainly won't be using these cards to send to other people......they will be sent "in house"...that way I get to keep them. Isn't it funny that since I started blogging that when I hear/read the word POST I automatically think of Blog Posts and not the post the postman brings!

With there being so many people in the house this weekend who will want to see Talj's photo in the flesh I was a little worried that it could get damaged. next time we get to town I'll seek out a frame worthy of it; but until then I need to keep it SAFE. I found an old frame and have put it in there. It's not perfect by any means and the photo moved slightly as I put the frame backing on but the most most important thing is that everyone can "look without touching"!

I was really pleased at lunchtime; I'd made egg mayonnaise and cress sandwiches for Manda's lunch and Mick managed a whole sandwich. He seems to have a problem with eating bread; it makes him choke but I always give him a taster so that he doesn't feel left out. Well he managed more than a taster today....it must have been because the cress was home grown and not shop bought.

I'm still having a problem getting him to drink; it's not choking that's the problem....he just doesn't seem to WANT to drink. It will be interesting to see what he does at the weekend when there is a Brandy & Coke on offer....maybe I've just not found the drink he fancies. Although he eats quite well he doesn't open his mouth very wide.......but it's a different story when Chocolate Liqueurs are offered....you should see how wide he opens his mouth then!!

A DAY OF WONDER

I am really trying hard to compose myself enough to share with you all the wondrous happenings of today.
The day may have started like this











but the events that have occurred since!!!!!!

I will try to put them in order; my mind is such a maze of emotion at the moment.......I knew that just the fact that we would be going to a garden centre meant it would be an exciting day but....WOW!!!!!
Mick was still asleep when I opened my email.....in it were many notifications of comments on some of my posts....one was from Dirty Butter who has been valiantly hunting down Greg (the ex-owner of Smallbridge Hall).....................here is part of that comment; a copy of the email she had received from someone she had communicated with in her search.....

Hello Rosemary,The owner of Smallbridge Hall (and Pont Data) was indeed Greg Moore, who was married to Libby - with 2 daughters I think. Some of the group members to my knowledge still live around Bures, so I've copied the group mailbox. If anyone can help, they'll presumably respond :-) Best of luck,Sigurd

AMAZING NEWS!!!

I was just coming round from this when there was a knock on the door...it was the postman with mail from Talj. Talj had said that she was going to send me one of her photographs by way of a thank you for my post Clatteridge Cancer Campaign. I knew the photo would be superb because I have seen on her blog some of her work.......but never did I think it would be as wonderful as it is................this is going to disappoint you I know but as hard as I've tried I haven't been able to take a photograph of it that would do it justice and it is too big for my scanner. It was a photograph of the base of a tree, bared roots thrusting forward as though gathering the Autumn leaves surrounding them. The colours and the clarity are breath taking. Oh how I wish I could share it with you all. It will definitely be framed and hung in our living room in pride of place.

Meanwhile that grey sky outside was becoming blue and sunshine was to be seen! Bad weather would not have stopped Mick and I going out....but good weather would make the trip even more enjoyable. Mick ate his breakfast with relish and at 11o'clock off we went to the garden centre.



We had a wonderful hour there; Mick was peeking at all the plants......we looked at the Rhododendrons on sale and I knew that inside Mick would be smiling because in the past whenever we saw Rhodos for sale Mick would say "They call THAT a Rhododendron!" and feeling pride at his own that he has loved and nurtured for so many years in our garden. I won't go into detail about what we bought etc....I'll post that tomorrow (maybe tonight?) on Me. My Life,My Garden.....suffice it to say we had a wonderful outing. When we got home I put Mick back on his bed (after showing him Talj's photo again)

and he sat with his head so straight and erect; not lolling forwards or sideways. The trip had done him so much good!

The wondrous happenings don't end there though............also in one of my comment boxes is this!

Christian Langlois has left a new comment : Hi Ruth, Sigurd is correct Greg Moore lived there with wife Libby, 2 girls probably about 10 & 12/13 at the time. Greg didn't leave the area immediately I think they waited for convenient time for girls to switch/finnish schooling.

More incredible information!!!!!!

My friend Sue came over to see if Mick and I had an enjoyable time at the Garden Centre.....we were having a cup of tea when there was a knock on the door....................I opened it and there stood a woman holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

As we are always home we often take in parcels and flower deliveries for neighbours...so I thought nothing of it until she asked "MICK AND RUTH????".......................she must have seen my expression of puzzlement because she said "I am at the right address aren't I. Do Mick and Ruth live here". In sheer bewilderment I mumbled a yes and took the flowers. Dazed I walked into the living room and Sue said "Wow they are amazing. Who are they from?".................I fumbled with the card not having the slightest clue who could have sent them......................

They were from Talj and Andrew thanking us for our efforts on the campaign. It was all too much for me.....the tears started to well...Sue started to sniff.....and realising that maybe I needed a little time to myself left. I hastily emailed Talj thanking her and Andrew ......still in a daze. I attempted to find my large vase...it's been so long since used it......I couldn't find it and was attempting to arrange them in a kiln jar when Manda came in. Well that started me off again as I told her all about the days events.........Manda put it quite succinctly when she said (as I sobbed in her arms "The thing is Mum you are so strong and deal so well with all the SH*T.....it's when the nice things happen that you don't know how to deal with it!"

"But all I've done is write a blog!!!..... and I've all these lovely people who I've never met saying such nice things, sending gifts, spending their own time trying to find Mick's painting!!!"............

Manda then threatened to write on my blog "STOP BEING NICE TO MUM; SHE CAN'T HANDLE IT"............lol

I'll end this post as I started it; with a picture of the sky...................now I must go and do a blogaround....I've visited no one yet today.......not even my P.A.D. friends!!!!

Update;

Natalya has kindly sent this so that you can see the wonderful photograph

LOVELY JUBBLY !!!!!!!!

WE'VE DONE IT

Well done everyone and Thank You for all your wonderful comments. Special thanks to those of you who highlighted this post on your own blogs.....your help was invaluable. Talj is doing a stalwart job of thanking you all by visiting as many blogs as she can and I am slowly making my way round to do the same. To those who do not have blogs/emails or have been anonymous please accept our thanks by way of this post. Many of you have been touched by cancer in your lives and by small gestures like this I hope that one day cancer will be eradicated from this world so that our grandchildren and their children will not have to bear the suffering of losing a loved one in this way.

Of course the fund raising is not over by a long way.

Maybe some of you would like to put the donation box on your own blogs, pop over to Talja's blog...she will be only to pleased to give you the code.

Maybe you'd like to make a donation yourself; don't think "Oh I can't afford much"....every penny helps...look how these 50p's have mounted up in just a few days.

Maybe you own or work for a company who could help with Car Sponsorship - Your advert somewhere on a Smart Roadster as it makes it's 1,000-mile trip!

Maybe you're in a pub dart's team or a football team and could Sponsor the Team - Your logo somewhere on the Top hat and Tails!

Such a lot of "Maybe's"............

have a second read of them.....

just think about them .............

I bet that at least one of these "MAYBE's" could become a "WILL BE"

CLATTERBRIDGE CANCER CAMPAIGN

You may have seen comments in my comment boxes from Talj; not only does she have a lovely blog with some great photos but she is also raising money for the Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology (look in my sidebar for more information); a cause very close to her heart. Mick and I have made a small donation and have decided that, in order to swell the coffers even more, we will donate a further 50p a comment on this post up to a limit of £25 (wish it could be more)......

so come on folks.......WE NEED 50 COMMENTS....it'll only take a moment of your time.

UPDATE;

Rose's Dad, Andrew, is upping the stakes and donating 50p for comments 51 to 100...........I'll keep this post at the top of my blog until we reach the target.

UPDATE;

Keep up the good work folks; special thanks to those of you who are mentioning this on their own blogs; I shall, over the course of time, visit you all (as long as my pc doesn't throw another wobbly!)

KEEP THOSE COMMENTS COMING

MAJOR UPDATE:

WE'VE JUST HIT THE FIRST 50 COMMENTS.......WELL DONE.

IT DOESN'T END THERE THOUGH

50 MORE TO GO!

SHROVE TUESDAY

Thanks to all you great folks who have left comments on Clatterbridge Cancer Campaign; the fund has now been increased by another £25 plus a little tax bonus. Here's a brief resume of what you'll see if you click on the donation box in my sidebar.

Our online donors to date: Display Name Ruth & Mick Date 19/02/2007 Type Donation Amount £25.00 Tax Bonus £7.05 Comment with love from "There Are A Million Stories"

You can go and have a look without committing yourself to making a donation and maybe one day before August you may find a few spare pennies down behind the sofa


or decide to empty your penny jar and pop your name on the list of donors!

Mick has been on great form this morning and appeared quite pleased when I told him About the transport we were getting tomorrow so that we can visit the local Garden Centre. Fingers crossed for dry weather! Not that rain will stop us........Mick has some good waterproofs. Going to garden centres and nurseries is one bit of shopping that Mick has never complained about. Food shopping is a different matter entirely...................we had a good scheme though....Mick would drive me to Tesco's or some other large supermarket and then settle down in the front seat of the car, a James Patterson or Ian Rankin book in his hands, his car CD player blaring out Celine Dion or Lionel Richie.....and quite happily stay there for as long as the shopping took. It worked out fine for me too as I could be a typical woman and meander up and down every aisle with no pressure! I'd see other couples in the shop; hubby looking red and fed up and know that my sweetheart was quite content with his "shopping" trip.

I was saying about Mick being on great form........it was one of those mornings when he was very alert. I gave him a shave and I could see him trying to manoeuvre his tongue to raise his top lip to make it easier for me. When I told him I was going to roll him on one side or the other he would lift the appropriate shoulder ever so slightly......and when I put on his socks (promising to try not to tickle him) he very slightly lifted his foot. I like mornings like this as it proves to me that although he can't speak he is truly understanding what I say to him.

I put one of his new (Valentine's Day present) shirts on him as per usual he looks fantastic in it.

Brenda, our sister-in-law, has come down with a nasty cold so she and Ron won't be visiting after all today. That means Mick, Manda and myself with have the Apple Pancake all to ourselves at lunchtime!!!

Just had a look at the latest comment numbers....75 at the time of this posting.......Andrew (Rose's Dad) will be so pleased even though he is the one doing the paying for this 50!

POST WEEKEND POST

First of all I want to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who have commented on the Clatterbridge Cancer Campaign post; I would love to thank you all individually but it would be rather unfair if I commented myself. Keep them rolling in; there's a way to go yet.
Once my computer was up and running again the rest of our weekend went smoothly. There was a bit of banging on Saturday afternoon as one of our neighbours was having a new fence put up. They had been laying out their garden last Summer when they moved in but I've not been able to see the end result until now.
I took this photo and put it on my computer screen so that Mick could see it and understand what all the noise was that kept disturbing him. He seemed quite satisfied then and slept through the rest of the afternoon.






On Saturday evening, when Manda popped in, Rocky decided he'd pay us a visit too. He jumped up onto Mick's bed and made himself quite comfortable. I think he liked the ripple effect of the mattress.







He wasn't very pleased when we had to turf him off so that we could get Mick ready for bed!








perhaps I should have shown him this picture of his sparring partner Max with his new haircut.








Sunday morning Mick and I had our usual 3 hour gardening radio programme on. I had some Amaryllis bulbs to plant up and was SO pleased that I had my camera phone on me as I could instantly snap Mick's reaction when I showed him how BIG the bulbs were. Moments like this can never be repeated. I sometimes wish I had CCTV in the front room because you never know when something like this reaction is going to happen.



Sunday afternoon we gave Mick his kitchenshower; he was awake the whole time and tried really hard, once again, to lift his arms so that I could wash under his armpits. The baby oil massage seems to be working well................I see you smirking in the corner................ON HIS SCALP FOR THE CRADLE CAP!!!........................ Mind you when we are putting Mick's Oilatum on his dry skin I often say "You lucky man....some men pay a FORTUNE for treatment like this!"........LOL
Mick ate well last night.........he loves the spicy mince that Chris makes (it's Chilli actually but Mick was always adamant that he didn't like Chilli when he was well).
Tomorrow we have Ron and Brenda visiting..........as it will be Shrove Tuesday I may make Apple Pancake instead of an ordinary cake; I'm sure I've some stewed apple left in the freezer that I froze last Autumn. It cuts into slices like a cake and will be lovely served with some cream.






I am still having some computer problems so if I suddenly disappear for a few days it's because my pc has had to go and see Dr. Rob. Hopefully it won't come to that but if it does it's no excuse for you to stop those comments coming in so that we can reach our target 100!

ART FOR ART'S SAKE - UPDATE

An important update re; Greg Moore...............

Between 1986 and 1988 the redundant High St shop was purchased by Greg Moore, an Australian entrepreneur, who founded Bridge International (later renamed Pont Data Company)"Bridge International" was an IT firm specialising in supplying online information to the finance industry.Due to its rapid growth it soon outgrew these premises and moved down to Smallbridge Hall. Sometime after 1988, the shop was purchased as residential property by a local school teacher.

Dirty Butter has found this information; what a wonderful lady she is. This is a very exciting step forward as it now looks almost certain that I have the surname .............this is going to make things a lot easier to track down.

Original post ART FOR ART'S SAKE

A SH**TY MORNING

Today started off quite well....I'd slept well, nice sunrise, not too cold etc. As I was awake early I did a post for M.M.L.M.G., left a few comments here and there and then.......this is where it all started to go wrong......I followed some ill advice I'd been given to do a SYSTEM RESTORE on my computer; I'd been having a few niggly problems lately with it and was assured that this would probably solve it.
BIG MISTAKE ......FAR FROM SOLVING ANYTHING IT MADE MATTERS WORSE!!! I couldn't get into any of my favourites.......I clicked and clicked....NOTHING!! I tried to sign in to my blog.......NOTHING. I really started to panic!!! In fact I started to cry.......my life line to the outside world, my communication, my sanity..................all gone!!!!

Mick started to rouse and so I had to pull myself together; explained my sniffing nose on a cold and tried to act normal. Everytime I walked past my computer to make tea, make breakfast, get a flannel etc etc...I quickly clicked just in case by some miracle it was going to work again. It didn't. Mick did quite well with his breakfast and only dozed back off a couple of times. As I was getting him dressed he made a magnificent entry for the "Log of Logs"...........I was pleased about this as entries had waned lately.........the thought ever going round in my mind that the chances of me ever recording on my blog were zilch!! I put him in his armchair, tidied up and then stared at the blank page on my computer screen in anguish. Thankfully...and don't ask me how.....my email was still working......

I emailed Rob praying that he was at home and on his computer. I didn't want to ring him.....after all it was Saturday morning..........a young man of his age would be nursing an hangover I was sure. The relief when he emailed back..................................I can smile now at what he wrote;

well that was rather silly. Why didn't you ask me first before doing something so major. Well too late now. Basically you are going to have to do all the Microsoft updates and re-install anything else that was installed after the time that the system restore has taken you back to. System Restores are nasty things I am afraid and normally causes more problems than its worth. The only way forward now is to reinstall stuff. You wont have lost any data on the laptop, i.e. photos etc but you will have lost program settings etc.

He then guided me to reinstalling IE7 etc and ended the instructions with the words

and keep your fingers crossed!...................which was slightly worrying but added afterwards

I know you will get it working again as you are one of the select few that actually look for answers to get resolutions which believe me, not many people do that.......which made me feel a little better

As you can tell by the fact you're reading this it worked.....................and if you're reading this Rob......................every second of the two months of morning sickness, four months of aching back, three months of looking like beached whale, eight hours of labour and six months of sore nipples was worth it!!!!!!!!

BUTTER BEANS??

I had some really interesting emails today from my blogfriend at Dirty Butter............she had been trying to gather more information re the painting of Mick.....it is so kind of her as she is not in the best of health herself and is caring for her father. She had found the name of a Greg Moore, an Australian entrepreneur who lived in Bures (although not actually at Smallbridge Hall) until 1991 when he had problems with his business Pont Data Company. Now the painting of Mick was not done until around 2000 so the timeline doesn't fit. It goes to show though that information is out there in cyberworld..............and maybe this Greg did come back to Bures and bought Smallbridge Hall..............further investigations are being made

Mick has done very well today putting up with me trying out the new vacuum cleaner and carpet shampooer that I've bought. When I think how acute his hearing seems to be from his reaction if someone speaks to him or he hears a strange voice I find it remarkable that as soon as I warned him that I was going to be making some noise doing the cleaning he managed to fall straight asleep and STAYED asleep until I'd finished. I think it must be a "MAN THING"......LOL

I don't know if any of you who watch British TV have seen the new advert for Branston Beans.....well the song they use is a parody of "I believe in miracles"!!!!!....every time it comes on his ears prick up and I just KNOW what he's singing in his head!

For newer visitors who haven't a clue what I'm talking about click HERE to read the relevance.

ALL IS ROSY

Mick did really well with the Valentine's dinner I'd cooked him last night; he enjoyed a few sips of red wine and ably managed Chocolate mousse, strawberry comfit, ice cream AND cream for dessert. He was really stuffed after all that and so I quickly got him ready for bed so he could have an undisturbed sleep.

About 9pm Sue text me to ask would I like company. As I'd turned her down in the afternoon so that I could have a nap I was pleased to have her come over.......I needed someone to help me finish the bottle of red wine anyway!

She had bought us this Valentine's gift; a lovely miniature red rose...isn't that sweet of her. We had chatted away for a good hour or so when there was a knock on the door and in came her husband Tom....dressed in pyjamas and dressing gown!!! He was wondering if Sue intended going home...it was 11.30!!!!! We had a laugh about what the neighbours must have thought if they'd seen Tom in his night clothes trotting over to visit..................I could get a reputation as a Scarlet Woman!
I slept much better last night and didn't wake up until about 5am..............it was very frosty but lovely and sunny so Mick and I went for a stroll around the block. When we got back he sat in the kitchen while I potted up the hanging basket begonias........normally he would be my compost mixer but I told him that this year he could sit and watch and make sure I got the recipe right....LOL........and believe me he WAS watching!!

He's had a nice little doze back on his bed now and I'd better get on with some lunch.............now what shall we have?????