As Jules Said, (Not So) Freaky .... - Best Moments Award

Last year I wrote a post telling you how Ishbel and I met up with a couple of friends we met on Twitter. Well really it was a friend and her husband; Julia R Barrett and her husband Oscar.  Oscar doesn't do twitter, much too busy ... Anyway we became great friends with Julia over a couple of months and she thought it might be a good idea to meet up as they passed through London on their way to a hiking trip in Wales.  Arrangements were made and they duly arrived and, as I said this resulted in me posting Julia and Oscar, read it here. 

Well, lots of folks read that post, one of whom was Marylin Warner, Marylin does not do twitter either but she does write and post a weekly letter to her mother who has Alzheimer's, reminding her mother of their past conversations and the life lessons that she had instilled in Marylin and others and that Marylin, through her posts, now passes on to her family and of course to us through the medium of her blog. Marylin's blog can be found at 'Things I Want To Tell My Mother', here 

Well Marylin remembered my post, I think she is a little bit like Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory in that she must possess an eidetic memory to remember so much of what she has learnt over the years.  Marylin's post to her mother last week took a slight twist in that she informed her mother, and us that she had been nominated for a 'Best Moment Award' on one of her earlier writings and in keeping with the award she had to nominate others and bless her cotton socks, as well as awarding much more deserving posts, including Julia, she included me, that post can be seen here

All it remains for me to do then, is to thank Marylin profusely for thinking about me and for including my poor attempts at communication, in her basking sunshine.  That's what she does over on her blog once a week, she brings a little ray of sunshine into your life and if you have had a poor day or week, her soliloquising on past and every day events makes you smile, they make you ponder the meaning of life and they make you grateful and thankful that the world is not full of people who do not respect the rights of others and it makes you hopeful that because of her and others like her who have hearts that are so full of love and tender caring feelings, that this world isn't that bad, after all........

So, if Marylin Warner can take it.. My first nomination goes right back to her - just follow the links above to Marylin's site, YOU REALLY WILL NOT REGRET IT

Julia R Barret over at http://juliarachelbarrett.net/ who is, in the words of Amy Farrah Fowler, 'MY BESTIE on this internet thingy writes amazing blogs about her life and her books and then just to confuse us uneducated peasants throws in an in-depth, well researched, post on nutrition, medical matters or anything else that she decides needs to be ripped apart - and confuses the hell out of me and makes me laugh out loud, giggle and blush in equal part, pop over and visit and say a big Hi, here 

Penny Watson over at Penny Romance is so outrageous at times you almost choke on your own tongue at some of what she says and does and if you are a guy and you have a beard, send her a photo, she loves (almost) any bearded guy, if you have nice pecs, so much the better.  I suspect her dream date would be a bearded James Bond and a few Martini's but lord knows what she would do with him after the drinks..........

Lorca Damon over at Lorca Damon.com Lorca comes or at least should come with a health warning the pain that she inflicts from laughing so much is just not funnneeeee at all, but you just can't not revisit to see what she says next - not wearing a bra or bathing for 4 days, oh gawd my sides ........ I couldn't even put a response on there as I was scared of the reply I might get ....

John Malik over at ChefJohnMalik.com is, as you can see from the title of his blog, an accomplished chef, or so he says, and I believe   I have never had the opportunity to taste any of his dishes, but when he fires up the old keyboard and it gets to the correct temperature he can certainly cook a well written recipe of writings on a diverse range of topics from the love and care of residents in a care home facility that he was the executive chef in, to a farewell note to a beloved pet and a heart throbbing pedal pounding description of his latest escapade on his mountain bike although he really needs to have some work done on those hairy legs before posting any more photos of them.... 

Jaye Manus I have no idea what Jaye is saying half the time, I am far too thick to understand it, but over at http://jwmanus.wordpress.com/ she seems to spend her time giving succour, comfort and unpaid advice to aspiring self publishers on how to go about getting their own works published , she really is a good egg giving so much of her time to help others - another one of those 'nice people' that draws you in and you feel so comfortable with when in her company...

Pauses for a break.......

Well I could go on and on and I believe in the rules we are allowed up to 15 nominations, but If I keep going I'll be here all day.  If I have missed you in this posting please, please forgive me I am feeling chastened as I write this but I really do have a short attention span AND I will ignore that bunch above on the next one and include you, I will really.... But before I go can I make one more final special mention and you will understand why after saying no more, why I do for this one and it's for LESLEY

Yes you, Lesley Scott, one of my adorable nieces.  Lesley can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/grouchymonsta and on her blog at http://clichesandcatastrophes.blogspot.co.uk/ Unfortunately for us the wee monkey doesn't post very often, IN FACT IT HAS BEEN OVER A YEAR NOW, SHEESH but, she really should she has such a way with language and in describing the insane workings of her twenty something mind that one of these days I am sure she will going from being a beauty therapist to being one of our finest comedy stage performers and or writers. There is a wee collection of her stuff over at her post, it is worth checking her out and while there, tell her to start writing again, we the public deserve to read her and there is no point in hiding your light under a bushel (what the hell is a bushel, BTW?) But get out from under whatever it is Lesley and Post, post post.......





Rules for the BEST MOMENT AWARD:  1. These nominees (now winners) repost these rules completely after their acceptance speech. 2. Winners now have the privilege of awarding the next awardees! The re-post should include a Thank You for those who helped them, a NEW list of people and blogs worthy of the award (up to 15), and the winners posted here will then notify their choices with the great news of receiving this special award.    Download the award's logo at MomentMatters.com/Award and post it with your acceptance.

A Wandering Cloud

Cirrus clouds. (Picture taken by Marylin Warner)

Caught up with some blog posts during my lunch break today.  As usual in the office a bit fed up but as usual after reading a few of my twitter friends posts I was in a better mood.

Marylin Warner over at 'Things I want to tell my Mother' wrote another inspiring post entitled 'The Way to Love Anything', calling on a past conversation and painting session with her mother, on cloud formations as the theme.  Marylin's Mom suffers from Dementia and her blog is her weekly letter to her Mom reminding her of the life she enjoyed as a mother and friend and teacher. Marylin's post, inspired me to this little bit of nonsense

cirriform, cumuliform and convective

rolling and rippling in the sky above

Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria rolling, rippling and stumbling in the seas around us

clouds in heaven painting our imagination and being, sometimes, our inspiration

Ships in the sea of a bygone era slowly bringing to us men of inspiration

Well that’s the best I can come up with, but as usual your posts seem to bring out something in me and make me do what I usually avoid,......

Marylin liked it, so I thought I would share 

You can read Marylin's post here

A Dreary Day

It's quarter to five on Sunday afternoon on the 4th November 2012. I'm sitting in the kitchen and the beef casserole I prepared earlier with chunky vegetables, carrots, swede and parsnips with a couple of chopped onions has been in the oven for an hour and a half on a slow peep. It has about another hour to go and then I shall serve it up for Ishbel and I with some creamy mashed potatoes, but not to many potatoes.

It's already pitch black outside and the wind is still blowing and more rain seems to be threatening to add to the constant downpour we had for most of the morning.

What leaves are still left on the trees that surround us, seem to be clinging on as if they really don't want to be dislodged from their branches probably just as we would prefer not to be dislodged from our warm homes and comfortable lives.

Sometimes though we have to wander out, whether we like it or not. I had to go out twice today. Once to take Ishbel to work in the department store she works in, how I hate and detest Sunday trading, there is no need for it and that is not from a religious perspective, just from the perspective that we already work hours through the week and at different times, so we miss each other then too. And I am not particularly commentating on Ishbel and I here either I am talking about lots of family's whose working routines make them miss each other as well.

Then I had to pop out to, also to work, as a building and facility for local people was being closed by the council and people were losing there jobs and losing an amenity. This facility was passing to the company I work for and a new building, but not an amenity, will be built and more jobs will be created, but, it was still a sad affair to watch people who had been employed for years gathering and looking on sadly as the keys were taken from them and the shutters came down for the last time on the place they had invested so much of their own time and effort into over the years, and it is still appropriately dank and dreary on the streets outside covered in their carpet of russet coloured leaves.

Then I learn that one of dearest twitter friends Julia R Barrett, is also going to have to venture out, maybe not in dank and dreary weather, in Northern California, to go visit her parents as she discovers her father has suffered a torn mitral valve in his heart, that news was here, and the dreariness of the day is compounded by the news....

We wish Julia and Oscar her husband and more especially her dad our warmest wishes and hope that those wishes at least bring some warmth to them at this time of family distress.

But all is not dreary with others. Marylin Warner a wonderful blog friend writes the most amazing letters on her blog to her mother who lives a couple of states away in America and who sadly suffers from Alzheimer's and whose memory constantly needs to be jogged. Marylin does this through regular long drives and her blog letters which in all honesty are quite uplifting, as was the one she posted today, read it here,  and then the world didn't seem quite so dank and dreary after all....

And then finally, another dear twitter friend, Jaye Manus, who you can meet here, posted a comment on a blog that our nine year old grand daughter Mollie posted a while back, you can check that out here,  about 'treasuring that child' and wanting to adopt her, bless. We do treasure her and our other Grandchildren Jaye, we really do....And Mollie sent this response back to Jaye " @JWManus Tell Jaye thank u but she can't adopt me because I will miss my mum . Love u and I am having a curry for dinner"

And the day is definitely not so dreary after all as Ishbel has just sent a text to say she is on her way home and I've just turned the tattles on to cook

Hope your day is not to dreary after all......