I'm sorry to say that I'm still feeling poorly with the cough and all it's other symptoms. One of which is being unbalanced - (physically that is) The infection being in my ears and throat is having that effect.
It isn't funny! I feel like I'm on the deck of a boat that is lurching from side to side. I went to Doc' yesterday and got some antibiotics, so I'm hoping that they have the desired effect of putting me right very soon.
I've hardly been out of the house since I got back from my holiday and that's a week ago. I've even been hit and miss with the dog's walks, there have been days when we didn't go at all. All other activity has been minimal too including making my presence felt around here.
The afternoons are turning to night much quicker now since the clocks went back and the added darkness along with dismal weather seem to be having a negative effect on lots of people. Both of my daughters have to set off and return from work commuting in darkness and they're both complaining of feeling low and not in good spirits.
Well I have to say, thinking what to write is making my brain hurt, I'm going to give it (and the rest of me) a break now. Maybe I'll pop back later when I've recuperated
vacation
]]>Empty table
Progress
Back to daily life, I went into town yesterday and noticed that the shops have taken up the Christmas festive theme already. Halloween was also evident and providing a boost in sales for fancy dress outfits. This event seems to be much more widely participated in these days by both children and adults.
As yet I have no idea what sort of family gathering will take place this Christmas, it is usually left up to me to organise, but since the kids have grown up I sometimes wish I could opt out. The whole "business" of Christmas celebrations increasingly feels like more of a chore than a pleasure. I wish I didn't feel like that
The dog and I enjoyed our walk earlier. Just the usual stroll through the park and a shop stop to pick up milk.
My urge to "fulfil the day's potential" is ebbing somewhat as I was drawn back here to the computer, but soon I intend resurrect it by tidying my lounge and doing some ironing.
Sabbath won't be a day of rest for me, I am a haphazard "Domestic Goddess" and have to do chores when the urge strikes (or not) 
It's quiet in here and safe
Just the tip tap of keys as I type
That fly just buzzed by again
or maybe it was another one
A flurry of leaves hit the window
Come out, come out, they seem to say
Open the blinds and greet the day
So with an extra hour of wakefulness and an early start, you'd think it could be a really productive day and it does have some potential to be that, but so far I've been sitting sluglike watching TV and having got bored with that I've now moved over to the computer.
These are distraction activities, things that I do when I don't feel inclined to do anything that actually needs doing. My throat is feeling sore this morning and my mouth is really dry, I think it is caused by the inhalers that I have to use, there's alway's a payback with medication in my opinion, in this case "for the privilege of breathing easier" the charge is "dry mouth and sore throat"
I fear this post could easily descend into being a whiney, whinge as that seems to be the tone of my thinking this morning. Time to put a halt to that then! I'm now going to get ready and take the dog out to blow a few cobwebs away, then I'm going to do something to fulfil the day's potential
I love it when writing my blog helps me to clear my "attitude" and get on with the day I f there is anything worth telling, I'll pop in later to let you know 
]]>See next post
]]>Lets start with last Thursday, In the morning I had my hair cut and coloured, I went back to my usual hairdresser, I decided that complacency was acceptable in comparison to this
Having had my hair done, and feeling rejuvenated (all the grey hairs magically turned back to brown) I headed over to see my sister to show it off. We had a good natter and a laugh (she makes me laugh, even at stuff that's not meant to be funny)I think it's our Yorkshire upbringing.
On Sunday, I went out for dinner with my eldest daughter and her boyfriend and his parents, it was the first time that I've met them as they don't live locally and had come to visit their son for his birthday. it was good to meet them, but a pity that hubbie couldn't be there as he was working. We had a lovely meal and found plenty to talk about.
Yesterday, I spent a lot of time sorting out my wardrobes and hubbie took two big bags full of clothes to the charity shop for me. I'm on a bit of a roll with the clutter clearing recently. In the evening it was dog training night as usual so that got me out of the house for a couple of hours.
This morning I went to the osteopath for treatment on my neck and back, I am persevering with these appointments in the hope that there will be a cumulative effect. I am fed up of just accepting pain and health issues as my lot in life and this is one of the ways that I've chosen to challenge it. Before coming home I called into the supermarket for some food shopping. I keep toying with the idea of doing this job online and having it delivered, but I haven't tried it yet.
So, that brings us up to date, the only other marginally interesting thing that I've been doing is playing "brain training" games here it's fun, and free for a week.
That's it for now, I'm off to bed soon, I've got a busy day tomorrow, but I'll tell you about that another day
"it's not wise"
I'm beginning to feel geeky 
If there's anybody out there - Goodnight, I'm gone. x
The sound of the sea Calls out to me
It's deep and dark the sound of the sea
The mountain tops call out to me
They're Strong and fresh the mountain tops
The blue of the sky calls out to me
its bright and clear the blue of the sky
The heat of the sun cries out to me it's hot and fierce,
the heat of the sun
Water, Earth, Air, Fire,
these are the elements of my desire
but even when I have all these
This man's heart is hard to please
The Moon and Stars cry out to me
They're elusive and wondrous the moon and the stars
Sea, mountains, sky,and Sun
Moon and stars, every one
what else to mention, the planets,
Saturn, Neptune, Pluto, Mars
Heaven is required, but it's not of this world
That's for the future, a paradise that lures
but for now this life endures.
So, hurry make haste whilst we still can
the Earth is dying It's ailment - Man
Adam and Eve,
The Ark, full laden
Darwin's Evolution
Global warming and talk of solutions
All these theories Too many to tell
The Earth will be gone and renamed hell.
]]>
Well my first smile came early today. I was out with the dog at about 9.00am on our usual potter through the park, when I saw two boys about 10years old throwing sticks up at a Horse Chestnut tree, obviously trying to dislodge its conkers.
There were none on the ground as the tree stands on the edge of the playground and it's windfalls are soon picked up and gone. By coincidence I had seen lots of conkers lying untouched at the foot of a tree in another part of the park. I was able to direct them to the spot, thus saving the first tree from damage and delighting the boys with their "find" This gave me my first smile of the day
The conkers were beauties, rather similar to the ones that I photographed a couple of years ago (fruit of the same tree)
This is the first time I've seen Ms Vorderman on TV for a while, and it is rare that I can be bothered to criticise someone's attire (Like who am I to judge?) but on this occasion I just need to say "Carol, that silly neckline chinline, made your head look disembodied and solid black didn't seem like a suitable colour for a morning appearance - more suited to funerals and evenings perhaps?
Furthermore, I have no idea what she was talking about on there, because her outfit distracted me too much 
So if it was an interesting topic, can anyone fill me in on that too?
]]>The only unusual feature of the day was a trip to the Doctor's surgery for a flu jab. I hope that it doesn't give me any trouble, last year I got slight symptoms for a couple of days (they say it can't make you ill, but it seemed like a big coincidence)
After that I cooked pork chops with mash,green beans,cauliflower and broccoli for three of us, that went down well
Holly and I went for a walk mid afternoon. It was pleasant out and we had a change of route. Usually I take her directly to places where she can be off lead safely to potter about, but today much of our walk was along the pavement.
She did well keeping up with me, not dragging her feet as she sometimes does. I think the different surroundings create more energy in her somehow. We walked through the churchyard and into the part of the village where I lived when I was first married.
Not a lot has changed there, but I have changed; older, yes, wiser, maybe. As we walked past the house where I spent the first seven years of my married life I realised that my attachment to the place has gone - for many years on passing by it, I still felt a connection and some sense of it having been my house, but today it was just like the others on the street - places where other people live.
We continued on a circular route past old haunts and eventually back to the park that now provides our regular stomping ground, so Holly had her usual potter and sniff session there. I noticed that the wind has brought down lots of crab apples, berries and conkers. I always have the urge to pick things like that up but today, with no use for them, I resisted.
Hubby went to work a few hours ago and my daughter has just gone out so it is the familiar scene of just the dog and I at home. She has had her fifteenth birthday recently and thirteen and a half of those years have been spent with me and my family. I could go on here to ramble about how she came to be ours and what a sweetheart she has been, but I'll save that for another day, this post is getting far too long
Since the seat was pushed fully forward to accommodate the stuff in the back I had to lift her onto the seat where she lay perfectly still with her front paws hanging over the edge and looking worried for the whole 10 minutes of the journey
It was a bit wild for a walk in the woods, the wind was shaking the trees and blowing stuff about, there was one moment when I heard a crack and a small branch came tumbling down - that's when I decided it was time to scurry back to the car with more haste. Holly enjoyed her walk, and a paddle in the stream, it was worth the effort of squeezing her into the car as the change of scenery seems to do her good.
The tightly packed car situation took my mind back several years to times when I used to pack my previous car (a Ford Orion) for my son to go on fishing trips. Imagine the scene, three boys fishing rods, bags, lunch boxes, seats, umbrellas and two dogs (because I had to take the opportunity to take the dogs a walk around the fishing lakes) Strictly speaking the car was overloaded, but they were short journeys and no harm came of them. The remembering made me smile
Bringing myself back to the present, I need to go to the supermarket, so I had better sign off from here and do that now
I am an admirer of most types of music, especially if it is performed live. My friend and I got a prime spot near the front and I wished that I had taken my camera with me.
It was a good show which included four solos and there was free tea and biscuits in the interval. Made a nice change from sitting in the house all evening. I couldn't find any video footage of the actual band that we saw (Knottingley Silver Band) but here is an old clip of Grimethorpe Colliery Band who featured in the film Brassed Off. The tune Knights Templar that they are playing was included in the show last night. So,turn the sound up and enjoy
Yesterday hubby started clearing the garage, a task that was long overdue, so I decided to be supportive and lend a hand. Gradually a path was cleared so it is now possible to access the back of the garage but we had ended up with a drive full of unwanted rubbish.
Hubby was considering the need for a skip, but I thought that if we had to order a skip, wait for it to come then pay a large fee it would be better to load up the car and take it to the council dump ourselves, doing a couple of runs as necessary. So the stuff was loaded into the car by Hubby (some of quite heavy) but by the time it was done, it was too late to take it anywhere.
This morning hubby informed me that he had an early start at work and he wouldn't have time to go to the dump. Oh don't worry I said I'll take it myself - I'll get one of the workmen to help me unload it. So off I went, when I got there, it was very busy, but I didn't have to ask for help, because a young man and woman volunteered themselves to assist me. The car was empty in no time and I came home feeling satisfied that the job was done and with my faith in human nature restored (see yesterday's post)
Lesson 1 - Words used for making contact with others.
"Good morning" a simple two word greeting intended to acknowledge the presence of another and convey your good intent in their direction. Can also be used literally to include the above AND the state of the weather. When used in questioning tone, it can be used to ask about a person's well being, or how the state of their day/work/mind etc is.
"Hello" a one word greeting, communicating "I am here, you are here, let's acknowledge that fact. Also can be used whilst standing at an open door whilst the occupant is out of sight in order to attract attention. Occasionally used to speak to "things that go bump in the night" when you wake up terrified not knowing what woke you.
"Hiya or Ayup" Colloquial slang (specific regional variations will apply) used to replace either of the above, more commonly used when speaking to people with whom the speaker is acquainted, but not exclusively; it is informal and used appropriately is acceptable to almost anyone (probably not the Queen though)
So there you have my interpretation of a few simple greetings. Yes, I know that there is some slight ambiguity as to their meaning, but I have been wondering what it is about these words that brings a look of surprise/shock/fear to a stranger's face when I utter them? Another undesired reaction is the head down shuffle past or eye contact with the air over my shoulder, silent walk past and variations there of.
As you know I frequently walk out locally with my dog and it is natural for me to open my mouth to greet someone (whoever they are) as our paths cross. It seems that people are not so sociable these days as they once were, or maybe they're just introverted /too busy watching where they're going
Give it a go, try saying hello to someone you don't know today - let me know how you get on (and I don't mean on blog, I mean face to face!)
]]>The phone was quite old, I couldn't say for sure, but I reckon that we've had it for at least 8 years, so I accepted that it had developed a fault and decided it was time to replace it. So after a bit of online browsing, I reserved my new phone, before making haste into town to collect it.
Due to a special offer, we now have a phone with three handsets, so kitchen, lounge and bedroom are all covered 
Hubby got them all set up and went off to work.
Later as I was gathering up the old one with it's bits and pieces ready for the bin it struck me that it contains rechargeable batteries. Hmm I thought 
it could be that it's just the batteries that have packed up and not the phone What's the odds that I'm right?
I'm not sure how to tell hubby
I think I missed your birthday - Hope it was a good one
]]>I've been up over an hour, but I'm still in my dressing gown, that's not usually my style. It's the computer that has interrupted my normal start up routine.
If I'm not careful this ten minute interlude could easily extend to all morning and that would be a waste of good dog walking weather so I'm going to get dressed now
I had coffee, toast with real butter and home made marmalade for breakfast so I'm set up for the morning - Catch you later