Love and best wishes for 2011

Stay Young

We all need to read this one over and over until it becomes part of who we are!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Try everything twice.
On one woman's tombstone she said she wanted this epitaph:
"Tried everything twice. Loved it both times!"

2. Keep only cheerful friends.
The grouches pull you down.
(Keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches!)

3. Keep learning:
Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever...
Never let the brain get idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.'
And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud.
Laugh until you gasp for breath.
And if you have a friend who makes you laugh,
Spend lots and lots of time with HIM/HER.

6.. The tears happen:
Endure, grieve, and move on.
The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves.
LIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love:
Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever..
Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health:
If it is good, preserve it.
If it is unstable, improve it.
If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips..
Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county,
To a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
I love you, my special friend.

11. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second chance..

And if you don't send this to at least 4 people - who cares?
But do share this with someone.

Roy before the bank job

There was more snow overnigt, so the snow shovelling service got into its stride yet again. At least there was also bright sunshine this morning, so it was really gorgeous to watch him at his toil. The tits are mobbing the seed and fat and the fire is roaring. I know that it is a pain trying to drive in it, but in every other respect this weather is glorious and makes me happy. As for Roy, I can't say, but he did look happy and rosy cheeked when he got in after making the path to the gate. We are expecting a DHL man today, so he can get to the house on foot now. If he tried to drive up I wouldn't be sure if he would make it. We'll see! Or not, as the case may be, knowing Amazon's recent delivery record! :-)

It's coldddddd!!!!

I have been meaning to take a picture of our outside thermometer for ages, but usually forgot about it or didn't want to go out into the freezing cold. However, this morning is so gorgeous that somehow it doesn't seem too cold to get out in it. I wish I had someone to go for a little walk with, I'd love to see how long I could take it. The sun is making all the snow and ice on the trees sparkle, it is truly magical today.

I got up around 8am and it was -16 on the thermometer then, which means that in the early hours of 3am or 4am it must have been at least -20 or less. By the time I took the photo above it went up by a couple of degrees, but even now - at about half past 11 it is still around -9 Celsius.

Reminiscing - end of year reflections

As we are getting close to the end of the year one can't avoid feelings of deja vue when trying to draw up the balance sheet of the last 12 months. If we are honest, we must admit that 2010 was yet another challenging, at times pretty horrific, but ultimately good year. On the minus side were instances of illness and all that flows from that, the major event of the plus side was the trip to be with the family and especially Callum. That little fella gives us so much pleasure, even from 5000 miles away, he is a gem and he is developing into a strong, fascinating little character whom we love dearly.

Lifestyle changes are on the way and some of them have already happened. Orienteering has taken a knock this past year and while there are already plans for some 'O' next year, I don't think it will ever be as central to my life ever again as it has been for the last two and a half decades. Notwithstanding creeping dicrepitude, I still enjoy it tremendously and have just realised that had I been able to make the Night Champs, for which I was entered, I could have been on the podium even in the combined championship in W60 at the end of the year. As there was only one other entrant in the Night Champs in W60, provided I finished the course I could have scored 2 there and with my other two bronze medals in the Sprint and Classic - link to the podium photo here:
http://img8.indafoto.hu/3/9/16419_25819c8fe224033cc89bafa6a16cdd04/9766767_b519b8860be1c9841bffcef216f0bc28_m.jpg
my 8 points would have been enough for third place. Still, I am sure Roy would have been furious having to hang around for even longer after the Classic Champs for an extra presentation, as he was very grumpy that day.

Christmas this year was quiet, relaxed and very enjoyable. I like the peace and quiet that being just the two of us gives us. We finally spoke to everybody on Skype, having managed to catch up with Sheila finally. Stephen rang me on his mobile while out for a walk and we had a long chat with the Canadian mob yesterday. We had lovely food and even had some champagne. Long may we be this happy on our 'estate' which we created and which is really our home now. The snow is still falling outside, so there is some more coach travel on the horizon as Roy is threatening to put the car in the garage yet again. Let us hope that it all melts by Wednesday!

The return of the snow

Just after I whinged to both the Canadian and the UK branch of the family that all the snow has melted and it was a dark, dingy, muddy and miserable day, suddenly the temperature dropped, the skies opened and it got all white and sparkling again. The photos were taken this morning, because by the time I discovered the pretty snow cover it was dark. The tits had also returned and made pigs of themselves (now there's a mixed metaphor if I ever saw one!) with all the sunflower seeds and fat we put out.

Our own Christmas lunch was really gorgeous: Roy had his fillet steak with a slightly pink middle, which could have been rarer - he said. Still, it was delicious and now that I know that the quality of beef from this butcher is OK, he can have it going moo next time. I made a complete pig of myself with the piece of salmon I got and even risked a little bit of stinky. For those not in the know "stinky" is a special mayonnaise we have been using since the 1970's when we learnt how to make it from a Swiss friend. It consists of: mayonnaise, ketchup, mild mustard, garlic, chives, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Yum, yum!!! Its name comes from the high garlic content!!

Today's lunch is roasted peppers for me and roast chicken for Roy. I think I will have the remains of the salmon for a cold salmon salad in the evening. I am still chasing Sheila & Co. for a phone chat. They seem to be always out when I ring them. Well, she is off to Toby's tomorrow, so I have today to catch them in sometime today, as I have no numbers for Toby.

Must go now as the fire needs topping up. Once that big stove gets going it takes very little work to keep it piping hot. It is amazing therapy for my arthritic back leaning against it. Aahhhhhhh!!

Callum's Christmas morning

We managed to get through to Ottawa on Skype and take these snapshots. Callum was quite lively and wouldn't stay in one place for long, but what is new? Stephen called in the middle, so we had a non-video conference call and chatted a bit. Sheila is never in at Chris's, so we haven't got hold of her yet.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

As you may see in these photos Roy has so far got his usual Xmas treat of a cooked English breakfast, aka a cholesterol cocktail. Unfortunately I had the silly idea of cooking it in an ordinary frying pan instead of a non-stick one, so the egg broke. He still loved it as you can see.

Currently we are a whole floor apart, as it has been the custom lately, due to the WiFi and the new desktop upstairs, which instantly became his domain, while I am on my laptop downstairs. What would we do without computers and the Internet? Well, probably talk to each other and such old fashioned pursuits! Seriously though, we have just been saying today that who would have thought what sort of a revolution the Internet would represent in our lives, even just 10 years ago? The globe had shrunk, I can have regular video chats with my grandson 6000 miles away totally free at the push of a button; I can shop for anything from anywhere on the planet and it will arrive in 3 days. Well, if you are lucky, like I am - poor old Stephen is obviously plagued by Amazon never to have his presents on time!! :-(

Our Christmas presents to each other this year were: a new desktop computer with headphones and printer/scanner for Roy, a truffle making course and equipment for making them at home for me. I also had in the post a lovely little parcel from Callum with some more excellent examples of his art and for further amusement a few of his report sheets from daycare. He has a fascinating, varied and nutricious diet there, which sometimes does and at other times does not seem to have any relation to the number of his nappy changes during the day. :-) Roy got a CD with the Sussex Marriage index on from Stephen and Lucy which will help him with his family history research. The highlight of the day, of course, will be the phonecalls, which are not due until this afternoon. Hopefully we can connect up with all of them spread around the globe to wish them merry Christmas.

The snow unfortunately has melted, so our much awaited White Christmas has not materialised, but we are still happy, just the two of us, quietly having a good time together. Roy's fillet steak (his usual Christmas treat no.2) has been marinading in the fridge since yesterday and my enormous piece of salmon awaits its lemon sauce eagerly.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR EVERYONE READING THIS!!