Interesting day!

Today my car started dying on the way into work. Anyone who has an old car and has owned many old cars before will know the sinking feeling, the dawning realisation that your faithful friend is about to throw a 7...Anyway I was a little frazzled driving up hills at £10 miles per hour in first and with streams of angry lorry drivers hooting behind me but somehow I got to work and then promptly locked my key in the car!
Luckily a friend was able to get them for me but then I had the journey home to contend with.
I drove even slower and it was abundantly clear as I tried to exit the M20 that I would be climbing my last hill in Harold.
I then spent over an hour in a rather dodgy lay-by with rats scuttling about.
I was very pleased to see the recovery man who told me I was right, Harold would cost too much to repair.
What a lovely car, I have had such a lot of fun driving him. I will be sorry to see him towed away.
Anyway I got home to find my son the worse for wear after a night out in Canterbury! ( What's the betting he is too hung over to catch his early coach back to uni tomorrow morning?
On a positive note there is a train to close to work leaving at 6.20 that will get me to school in time for the start of the day.
There is indeed a silver lining at the edge of the cloud.
Anyone know of a cheap ( £500 max) reliable car for sale?

Happy Mother's Day!

I am very lucky.
I got back from the boot-fair then spending time in my caravan to find a lovely bottle or wine waiting on the table (from my son) along with a beautiful bouquet of flowers from my daughter.
I sent cards to my step Mum and my Gran who help fill the gap left by my Mum when she died 33 years ago.
You never completely get over losing your mother but having my own wonderful children and good people to support and love me makes things so much easier.
Happy Mother's day Mum. I want you to know that while you weren't here for long I wouldn't swap you for the World.

Now how shall I spend my day?

I have quite a few things to do today and the question is what is the running order?
I need to go into town but want to avoid crowded car parks so really I should get up soon and go but it is so quiet and peaceful where I am right now the temptation is to stay right here and read a book....
The clocks change tonight. I need to remember that as I have a boot-fair in Capel. It is good to go there and promote my businesses and then spend time in my lovely caravan!

weekend!

I am looking forward to turning the alarm clock off tomorrow morning and waking up when I am good and ready!
I am looking forward to walking Ollie and enjoying some warmer weather!

Unexpected chilly weather

I do hope all the beautiful spring flowers and blossom survives this recent cold spell. I was out de-icing my windscreen this morning and I have even had to get my gloves out again!
Apparently the weekend should be warmer.
That would be lovely!

Watching old films!

It is so nice having my son visiting. We watched a film this evening. I have seen it before a long time ago but it was as chilling as I remember. The film was Silence Of The Lambs. t is great getting home from work and having a lovely evening watching a film.
It is freezing cold outside this evening- I hear it is set to warm up for the weekend which will be lovely!

out with my son.

I have just come back from a lovely meal at The Old Gate Inn in Canterbury. I went there with my son. There was a roaring fire which you wouldn't think would be needed but this evening it was pretty cold.
I am back home now with Ollie curled up next to me. he is nice and warm!

A great day!

I have just come back from spending the evening with a good friend. I was showing her how she can save money on her utility bills.
I had a great day teaching today too.
I feel very lucky to have been given these opportunities.
My two businesses fit in very well with supply teaching and I am learning so much.
The training the companies provide me with really helps me learn new skills and I am so glad I decided to try new things!

What a wonderful weekend!

On Friday I drove over to Essex with Ollie and Graham and the dogs came with me to get a Chinese takeaway. It was delicious!
On Saturday I got up early and drove to Telford for a Utility Warehouse conference which was truly inspiring.
Today Graham, Ollie Burt, Rufus and I went for a lovely walk in the fields.
Graham then sprayed the dogs  and me) with the hose pipe. He claims it was to get the mud off the dogs... :)
I am home now and looking forward to seeing Jack.
He is coming back from Hastings.

Meeting friends

I am really looking forward to seeing my friends at the pub tomorrow evening. We meet up about once a month and have such a wonderful time! When I get home my son should hopefully be here. It will be great to catch up with him!

Exciting

I have just come back from a rewarding day at school then drove straight to a networking event where  was able to let people know about my businesses.
There was a talk by an organisation called Beanstalk.
http://www.beanstalkcharity.org.uk/ Visit their site for more information - they are an organisation certainly worth learning about they help struggling readers become confident readers!

Clicking into place!

Do you ever get those days where things you have been puzzling over and books you have read but don't quite understand suddenly make sense?
I have had that experience today.
Sometimes when you look into something or try and learn a new skill you can try as hard as you like and not quite get it and then when you finally stop stressing about it the light bulb lights up inside your mind and you get it!
I have had one of those days and it is pretty exciting.
It makes me realise that when something seems difficult, don't give up but also don't stress. Keep pondering and looking out for new clues to the puzzle and then one fine day all will be revealed!

Spring has sprung!

I was walking along early this morning taking Ollie over the fields and I suddenly remembered some weather related rhymes: Ash before Oak we are in for a soak, Oak before Ash we are in for a splash....March winds, April showers bring forth May flowers.
I wonder how accurate these rhymes used to be when our weather was a little more predictable than it is now and whether we need to update them to mark the changing seasons we have now?

I would also like to share this with you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsRlzjSdJ9Y
Patrick Watson: Crooked Road
absolute bliss and so true, life does indeed send us on  a rather crooked road with lots of little twists and turns but that is what makes it exciting!

Ollie is NOT a Wally! (Who would have thought it?)

I know those who know and love him will find it hard to believe but I have realised that my dog Ollie is in fact NOT a wally!
I had started to suspect this some time ago but today I have reached 100% certainty that he is in fact a genius and has been playing along with the wally image from day 1.
He is simply too good at escaping and doing naughty things to be as daft as he appears and he understands an awful lot of what I say to him. I can even spell out w-a-l-k and he knows what the word means.
Every week day Ollie knows that after his walk and after our breakfast I will go to work so he simply runs upstairs as I get my things. At weekends he has worked out that if after our walk  I take my coat off I am highly likely to go back to bed so he waits for me on the stairs.
I wont bore you with pages of evidence but take it from me I am living with a crafty dog who has worked out in life it is often best to pretend that you are daft!

appreciation

One of the boys at the school today asked me if I was staying there forever. He said that he hoped that I was. I really appreciated hearing that. It makes a real difference knowing that you are getting through to people particularly those that find it hard to trust!

I am so happy it is the weekend. I have a relaxed time planned with a little cleaning and tidying thrown in.
happy days!

oh my goodness roast potatoes!

I love them. I decided to have a whole plate of them for dinner along with some broccoli and roasted vegetables.
It is hard to imagine a time when there were no potatoes growing in this country!
I even like them cold.

vegetable soup!

There is something incredibly simple and yet delicious about soup. I just made myself some bean and vegetable soup. I started thinking about all the wonderful soups there are. I particularly enjoy roasted pepper soup and another favourite is butter-nut squash.
I love the smell of it cooking in the pan. It is a great main course or even a starter!

all is silent

I am sitting in my room and it has just struck me how quiet everything is. It is lovely. The neighbours kids must have gone to bed. Ollie is fast asleep and all I can hear is an aircraft in the distance and the whirr of the computer.
While I love silence for short periods I am thinking about a clip I just watched it was about children in the USA who have hearing loss. They were having hearing aids fitted and the look on their faces when they realised that they could hear the people around them speaking was priceless!

Sunshine makes all the difference!

I had such a lovely weekend that as I was driving home I became distracted and missed my exit which meant I had to exit via Chartham Hatch but that was really no hardship as driving along country lanes on a sunny day is lovely!
I am home now and Ollie is fast asleep totally exhausted after bossing the other dogs about.
I got home and logged onto Facebook and my friends are all out enjoying the sun. Let's hope this is the first of many sunny days this Spring!

hooked!

Every so often I hear a song on the radio that grabs me and will not put me down.
This is one such song....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUyifq_X1J4

I like everything about it.
They played a live version on the radio on the way home this evening.
Lovely!

P.s Sorry to hear BBC 3 is being axed.

Jackanory

I watched a brilliant clip today. It was Rick Mayall reading a Grim tale- The 3 Doctors: genius!  it makes me laugh out loud!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c6NhuHK16s

100 happy days!

I am taking part in a challenge which is to post one picture per day for 100 days - the picture needs to be something that makes me happy.
I am very eager to do this challenge.
(If there are any days when I am not near the computer I will post pictures beforehand or afterwards.)
I like the idea that lots of people may decide to do the same thing. It is a lovely thought thousands of people taking a few moments out of their lives every day to post something that makes them smile! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WxDrVUrSvI&feature=kp

peaceful

It is a very quiet, peaceful evening. All I can hear is Ollie snoring next to me and my fingers tapping on the keyboard as I type this. Sometimes it is lovely to sit in near silence and reflect on the day.
It has been a good day.

Sundays are even better!

I am off to see my friends Jenni and Sarah today. We have known each other since our children were born and it is fair to say we have had some adventures over the years! Despite the ups and the downs we are able to meet up, compare notes and commiserate or celebrate depending on the occasion at the time. There is something wonderful about knowing people for such a long time. They truly become a part of your life. Sundays are meant for visits like this!
I love Sundays!

Saturdays are great!

I woke up this morning and took Ollie out for a nice walk in the fields. It was good to be outside and Ollie was overjoyed at all the sniffs to be sniffed at.
I am mooching about at home catching up on all the little tasks that need to be done but I quite like that actually. I like getting things done at my own pace and then looking back and thinking how good it feels to have the tasks out of the way.
yes I like those Saturdays when you don't have a pressing engagement and can take life as it comes!