Chinwagging

The YFG is the kingpin of a relationship we have with another family in the village - she and their daughter are very good friends, I get on well with the mum and dad, and they have a son who used to come to the gymnastics club when I was coaching, and he is a lovely lad.  I don't get to see that much of them nowadays, as the couple are both working, as am I, and so the relationship really relies on the girls to hold it together. I did give the lad the opportunity to earn a few quid last weekend by painting the shed, which he did with some relish.

So that has set the scene for a conversation which the YFG reported at the weekend. She had gone to see the daughter and taken them a few veggies from the garden, and stayed for a chat. The chinwag got around to a wedding that they had attended and the mum then blew the YFG out of the water in a way by saying, "I don't suppose your mum will get married again, will she? She's very happy on her own........"

She couldn't have been more wrong, and the YFG knew it, but she also recognised that it may be too soon for the folks around here to know that, so she hummed and hahhed and avoided actually saying too much, apart from noting that I am only 43, so anything is possible!  I think I have said before that the YFG has keen ideas about me being at least attached loosely to someone else by the time she goes off to university, but given that that could be in a year's time, we won't worry too much about that time frame. Let's just say that I don't want to be on my own for ever!  And whilst I am not "happy" at being on my own [there are lots of challenges to being a single parent], please don't think that I am miserable or depressed or particularly sad about it. God's got it all in hand, I am sure.

What upset the both of us was the presumption that this lady could have an opinion about something like this, something so personal and so private in many ways, and then that she would vocalise her thoughts to my daughter, of all people? She has never had a conversation with me about how I feel and has nothing to base her opinion upon, so she really doesn't have a clue!

But that is the world that we live in these days!  Everyone seems to think that they have the right to have opinions about other people's lives, and that it is OK to share them.  I blame too much celebrity washing of dirty linen on the tv and it is rubbing off on the rest of us.

Glad that is over

What? Several things!

The silly traffic seems to have stopped, thank goodness, and the figures are more reasonable again. 

The way I felt last week - I had some kind of bug last weekend and couldn't shake it off all week, feeling washed out and fragile.

The packing!  The girls have just left on the train to meet up with Grandypops to get on the bus to head towards Southampton and their cruise ship home for the week. They will be on Ventura, heading for Spain and Portugal [well, one port in Spain, two in Portugal and then Guernsey on the way home] and the suitcases and the packing have taken over the house these last few days!  I'm a tiny bit sad that the YFG will be away from me for her birthday at the weekend, but she's looking forward to celebrating on board.

So I am up for a quiet week. I feel kind of reflective today anyway, as I spent a lot of time yesterday praying for a friend's father to die peacefully. He had had a stroke on Saturday and he had little hope of recovering, so the family were hoping for a painless and peaceful passing for him, without suffering. His wife had already died a number of years ago, and he had been wanting to go to be with her for some time. He died in his sleep just after 3pm.

Thanks for stopping by - I'll see you again soon!

Folks, where are you coming from?

Something strange is going on, and my pageviews have consistently increased over the past two months, to the extent that there were almost 3,000 yesterday and my monthly tally is set to be more than double my previous highest.  And the views seem to be coming in through google, and from the USA.

It is quite unlike any spambot attack, and it is consistent, and growing, rather than random.

So, folks who are coming here through Google and who live in the US, what's the attraction?  Do tell, because I am intrigued!

Cooling down and gearing up

Thank goodness the heatwave has passed and we can breathe more easily - I am just not cut out for such searing temperatures.....today has been much cooler and fresher.  The garden is going mad, though, and despite collecting 9 courgettes from the plants last week, I have gathered another 8 tonight. It is that time of year when people are afraid to answer their door to me in case I am offering more courgettes - my courgette recipe folder is out and being well used!  The French beans are also laden with gorgeous green beans and the tomatoes in the greenhouse are ripening nicely.

The girls are off on their holidays with Grandypops a week on Monday, and so the preparations are beginning in earnest now......the cases, the shopping, the washing, the choosing....the slight panic!  They are getting a little excited now that the time is drawing nearer.  Dad's health isn't great and he will be getting another MOT at the doctor's next Friday to ensure that the doctor is happy that he is fit to go. Fingers crossed as he really loves his cruises and finds them so relaxing. I doubt he will get off the boat at all this time.

My hours at work are set to increase again, possibly in September, so I will be as good as full time. The YFG has realised that she will miss me, when the EFG returns to Abz and I am at work. She has admitted that the foreign girls were good company, so I think she will find that it takes a little getting used to; the year before the girls came, I was working the phone job and so I was here most of the time for her when she was out of school.  Mmmm. We'll have to see how that one goes in September: the EFG has her date set for her return, and her journey is all planned now.

Hope you are all doing well - I do keep an eye on most of the blogs when I stop for a cuppa now and again!  Love to you all xx

Melting

The YFG has just returned from two days on a Geography field trip, and there is a little sunburn on her shoulders, where there is a hand-shaped mark where the suncream did go and sunburn where it missed!  They were near Sheringham and Hunstanton on the north Norfolk coast, investigating coastal habitats  - ideal for this hot spell we are having.

The EFG and I had three hours in the garden last night, chatting, in the shade, eating our tea, and reading, enjoying the cool breeze.  I had the absolute bliss of washing my bed linen, it baking in the sun and then going straight back on the bed - and it smells g-l-o-r-i-o-u-s-l-y fresh and clean!  I'd do that every day if the weather would co-operate.

And today - it has been more of an indoorsy kind of day, hiding from the heat as much as we could, and just popping out as much as necessary. I've pottered in the garden tonight, watering the tomatoes, beans and courgettes so that they live through this heat.

I'm not particularly looking forward to going to bed tonight, as it seems that the overnight temperatures are likely to remain above 20 degrees.......and that is going to make for uncomfortable conditions. One of the neighbours has recommended opening the loft hatch and letting heat escape that way - but the girls thought that the number of spiders which would make their way down would outweigh the benefits, so we didn't try that.

Another chilled drink and another cool shower are in order before I try to get to sleep, I think.  At least we are not taxing the hot water system this week!

Facebook friends

As part of my bereavement support work, I have set up a Facebook group so that widows can chat with each other in a safe place.  The partner I am working with on this project has been clear that she would like this to be a Christian women's group, and I respect that. I am not sure that I won't expand into other groups in the future, though. If you are a Christian widow and would like to join the group, let me know in the comments [which I won't publish] and we'll go on from there.

It's HOT here today - Keep Cool and Carry on!

Quick catch up

• The YFG has left this morning for her Duke of Edinburgh practice expedition to Yorkshire. They are starting and finishing in Scarborough and it was an early start to leave the school at 6am, but they are looking forward to a MacDonald's breakfast on the way. She did load up with some porridge before she left, but the more calories she can take on board before they start, the better, I think: she doesn't have an awful lot of food in the pack for the four days, and I am sure she will have lost weight when she gets back!
• The weather is playing havoc with me keeping the weeds under control in the garden and I have given up!  All I am doing now is managing to keep the grass to a reasonable level......
• UJ has been away to the coast with my sister for a week, and we are looking forward to seeing him tomorrow and catching up with his news.
• The EFG helped collect donations at a Food bank drive in Tesco last week, and I worked the same thing in a different Tesco last Saturday morning - I am relieved to be able to say that both received very generous donations, and people were generally very supportive.
• My dad has had to have a chest x-ray. He's not doing brilliantly. We have to wait until he sees the doctor on Friday to get the results, but I am hoping that the doctor will advise him about the wisdom of the August cruise, as I really don't want them to go if he is not well enough.
• Work is going well, and I am still enjoying it........which is good!!  I am getting fed up of people telling me how tired I look, though, so I have had to invest in some proper make-up. Getting up at 4.30am this morning will not help matters, but I shall have an early night tonight. I am NOT tired!
• Much love to all of you who keep reading, now that posting is more sporadic. See you again later this week.