Catch Up 6th December 2009

Jim's been to the UK and returned with a car full of more stuff. We bought a load of bedroom furniture a long while ago and then never assembled it, so he's brought all that for our bedroom here. It's been kicking about so long I'll be amazed if all the bits are still there.

30th November! I found some photos I'd taken when Jim was trying to change the light in our new bathroom from a little puny one to a big manly one! Buster has become very clingy since Jim last left and just wouldn't leave him alone.

Buster 'helping' Jim!!

Buster is at this precise moment, driving me nuts by bringing his ball to me, dropping it underneath my desk then whining because he can't reach it!! Then he jumped up and put a large paw on the keyboard. AAAAH! Jim thinks it's all highly amusing! He's taking photos from up above. Very helpful.
Back to the abortive light fitting. Buster was in one of those 'fall asleep standing up' modes.

When Jim got up to fix the light, Buster resorted to the stool. Crazy dog.

When Jim got off the stool, here comes Buster.....
Asleep in an instant.

Jim went back to the UK on Wednesday, 2nd December. On Thursday morning Ann Broderick rang me to say there was a coffee morning in Feakle. Of course I was car-less, so Ann came to the corner by Hilary's house and picked me up. It was cold and wet. I have no idea where we ended up in terms of location, but I guess it was on the outskirts of Feakle, a small village about 20 minutes drive from us. There was a 'new' lady there, another Margaret and the spread, provided by the hostess Mary, was amazing as usual.

L - R. Margaret, Margaret, Helen, Mary, Ann and Me (Another Mary took the photo). If I forget a name, I try Mary or Margaret first!! As well as the food you can see, there was a fabulous apple crumble. With whipped cream. Very good for the cholesterol.

We couldn't stay too long as Margaret (one of them) had to get back and we had picked her up. Ann gave me a lift all the way home and came in and had a look round. I was a bit mortified as Ann's house is huge and beautiful and there isn't one thing out of place. Mine is - well - a bit of a tip! Still, she's lovely and I'm sure she understood!

The carpenter hasn't been able to continue with the skirting boards and door frames as his nose operation has caused him 2 nasty nose bleeds, one of which was quite serious. In the end they had to give him another anaesthetic and do something to stop it. So, he brought a friend along, another carpenter, who said he'd finish the job and would come on Friday. Did he turn up? Of course not!! Hopefully, he'll come tomorrow (Monday) and get it done so that we can decorate and actually move into it. What a Christmas present that would be.

One day, Hilary turned up to see if I was OK and she said it has taken longer to build our extension that it did to build her whole house! Mad.

Christmas Cards

I made and wrote lots of our Christmas Cards and Jim took them to the UK and posted them, as many of them are to people who live there. We haven't many more to write and most of those are Jim's friends so he'll have to do those.

It's been like a production line!


It has rained pretty much every day while Jim was away. Apparently it's been worse in the Worthing area. Today the sun shone on and off and I managed a few photos before the hail came down!

The wind machines on the hill were quite clear for a short while. It was very windy today so they will have been working overtime.

In our garden, the stream is still running every day. It does look pretty though.

Now that the trees have lost their leaves, we can see Lough Graney from different parts of our land. This view is across our grumpy neighbours' land.

The cottage and extension from the back. You can see how wet the ground is.

This holly tree is covered in berries. I expect the birds will eat them when food gets in short supply.

The red willow stalks look particularly striking in the sunshine.

The seeds of the rose-bay-willow-herb have stuck to the plants with the damp, but they make a pretty sight.

Finally, a panorama of Lough Graney from just outside our gate. Look at that blue sky. It wasn't there long.

Hot off the Press

Jim's just emailed me the photos he took of Buster being a pain - again. Please excuse my filthy clothes, papier mache and decorating have helped me achieve that dischevelled look!

What a helpful pooch he is!

I hope everyone has had a good weekend.