[MELODY525]

Holly~ sorry about the sadness at the same time you will have the joy of those happy memories of the good times spent with friends. ((((HUGS)))))

Linus~ You are very welcome and you and bump were worth every penny when I heard that happy voice of yours!!! Take good care of each other!!! Maybe you should print all of bump's messages out so he/she will know what went on for 9 months!

Tired tonite but a good tired. Got some wash done and it needs putting away but that can wait till tomorrow. I really just came back here to "see" my friends. somehow tonite I was feeling a bit lonely. Hope this too shall pass! Have a great night and Good Morning sunshine!

[happy2bme]

Hey Miss Mel, I'm sorry that you're feeling a bit lonely tonight. You know we are always happy to see you. I think you need to take up singing again. The journals are kind of boring now that we talk instead of sing. I had one of my CDs from the 70's on today - very good songs and it put me in an upbeat mood for a change. I didn't swear at the stupid drivers nearly as much as I normally would have!

Linus, good to hear the meds are kicking in and your chest is clearing. Just don't cough too hard and push out bump to an early arrival!

Holly I understand how hard it must be dealing with the emotions of the senseless act of losing your friend. I must admit that since I read that running red lights and stop signs was the major cause of vehicle deaths, I have taken to yelling and hollering at people who blow stop signs. This means I spend a good amount of time in my car yelling. It just annoys me to no end how people have this blantant disregard for safety. Like you said, life can change in an instant. Be strong and support your family and your friend. Make the life you are living today a good one for those around you. We have an elderly relative who has fallen into the pattern of depression over some deaths in the family. My husband said he cannot understand how someone can cut off everyone alive to dwell on someone dead. But that happens sometimes - doesn't mean that those alive mean any less to the person. I have seen it so much that I am prone to think that it's also a way of dealing with their own approaching mortality.

Shad, I can so relate to those ultra tired "don't even talk to me" days at the office. That's what makes me wish my life away quickly always hurrying to get to Fridays. Thank you for the advice on the roses. It's the opposite of what I would have thought. My roses thank you for saving their lives. The new pink one we planted is doing well. The others are kind of spindly - I suspect they didn't get fed at all last season. Never fear, we'll get them going again.

Boy I'm tired myself tonight. Maybe if I get to bed a bit earlier I will wake up on my own and get in a little morning exercise. Hope springs eternal, 'night all.

[Hollyhock]

Mel~ I come here to visit firends too. I have journalled every day since last June. It has filled a huge void in my life. I think we are truly blessed in this site and each other. I think it so so cool how people find a group they connect with, with all the choices between ther journals and the threads.We are fortunate.

Happy~thank you! I try to live my life well and appreciate each moment.
Grief is a funny thing. it was actually a release to think things through yesreday and I DID go clean up that garden. 2 daffodils are peeking at me right now.

Yesterday was a weepy day. I had 7 kids here.We spent most of the day outside.They played I gardened ,some helped me.I love that everything in the yard thta is growing I planted myself.All trees, shrubs and perennials.The day lilies I panted last year are sprouting!!!
Rhubarb is poking through. I ahve the yummiest recipe for a low fat rhubabr bread.I bake tons and freeze it. Give it as gifts too.
I copied yesterdays entry for my friend and wrote a letter. I included pics of our kids together.
I emailed it to some friends and the principal. He and I have really connected( kindred spirit).He is 60, of course.LOL! He sent back to most beautiful reply.
Touched my heart.
I had a pounding headache last night. I did the dishes, folded some laundry and was in bed by 9.DH went at 8:30,kids went at 8. Quiet household here. We all slept til 7am, woohoo.
Happy bunch this moring.
DH got a call about another job.He has a phone interview today.
Big kids all in school today. I have 3 little ones here. 2 girls are staying over night.Their Mom is at a conference and Dad works 18 hours today.
My Mom offered to buy patio stones for the walkway between the deck and shop for me for my Bday. I may go look at those today with the kids.
I didn't get more painting done. Sleep won out.

Have a delightful day dear chicks!!!!!!!

[teel]

Hi girls I hope you are all ok today.

I had a great week in Derby with my very good friends...the husband and children are the ones I went to London with last year. The best outing was the one to Chatsworth which would have been greatly improved if we hadn't had to keep dashing for cover out of the rain showers!! It is a very beautiful home of the Duchess of Derbyshire which has enormous grounds whith loys of things to see and a large lake. We didn't get to go in the house as the are 160 steps all in all and I didn't feel capable of doing them all safely as I am still relying on crutches some of the time. We had a drink and a cake in the gigantic tea rooms which I think my house would have fitted in to!!
At the end of the week we were driving home through blizzards and apparently there was a layer of snow at home so my neighbour said...I hoped it wasn't too cold as I had turned the heating off before I left!! Good job Holly has a fur coat!!!
Unfortunately the day before I left I went down with a stomach bug which meant I was being driven to the station when I said to Anne "you'll have to pull over 'cos I'm about to throw up!!" so she did, and I did too!!
Anyway I managed to get home without any further disruption to my bodily functions!

Sadly I came home to a huge row with a friend of mine who was very very upset that I hadn't let her know that I was going away for a few days. Everything I did to appease her wrath turned out to be the wrong thing so it has ruined a good week away for me. I was more upset than she was I think 'cos I think she was being a tad unreasonable. Yes I know I was wrong in not sending her a text but I have said sorry half a dozen times at least and took her a card and a bunch of flowers which were received very ungraciously. Anyway I hope it is all over now. I think she had had some bad news and had a bad week and she had rung me at home twice and not been able to get hold of me and was worried that I might be "under the floor boards" . Why she didn't ring my mobile or text me I don't know. Ah well. Not a good homecoming.

How is everyone? Linus and bump (not bum as Mel wrote earlier!!!) are going through the mill rather...Shads training...is this part of the new job? Happy is needing an early night...Holly is having a hard time too.
Well its time for me to be off and go visit my neighbour who has resigned from her nursing job (again!!) She too is very upset about the circumstances surrounding her departure but I won't go in to that now.
Bye for now. All take good care.
Love from Teel.

[linus]

hi everyone ,MEL i am so glad i finally got you off the comp{thanxs shad for the email trick} so happy to hear your voice and we must be getting used to each others accent there was hardly a "what pardon" the baby gifts are just beautiful ive showed them to everyone and when brother in law visited today hubby showed him too but we are both very grateful and very humbled to you and aunty jen
im a lot better today actually slept last night for more than 2 hours with no loo breaks and no throwing up so im a happy chick.
did anyone else have problems with there hair while pregnant????? my hair seems to have developed a mind of its own and wont do a thing i ask of it and that includes not standing on end Conner crashed at 8 ish last night and slept right through till 8 am this morning ,hubby and i took one look at him and sent him back to bed and he slept till 11.30 .he has no temp but a very runny ear so were keeping an eye on him ,craig is just craig but he is behaving so well im leaning towards the calm before the storm hopefully not but experience tells me to brace myself and batten down the hatches ,and pray he will prove me wrong so im going as im going to see my freinds tonight for a nice long blether
have good ones chickies and ill speak to you tomorrow
kirsty and bump

[Shad]

Oops, missed yesterday but heck, I slept through most of it anyway, it was more of a bad news day than anything else - more bloody reading, however I did get to see and do a few things on the computer and I have finally got a userid and a password to SAP even if I did have to find it myself and get it sorted out. And I now have a list of things I am supposed to achieve - and I don't know the first thing about the subject. Good stuff. I'll learn.
Yes Kirsty I had to go do some training to be able to use the training development tool that the OSR want to use for training. It was a good two days really.

Mel's obviously been posting parcels all over the world. I got one yesterday too. Thank you so much Mel. The card is - how should I put it - a fairytale. The guy's got to be gay!! And funnily enough, I hate shoe shopping. I put it off and off and off until I literally fall out of my shoes. It's so hard to find nice shoes for people with short, wide, flat and fat feet. Don't feel lonely Mel. We are all here for you, not always as often as we would like but frequently I see something stupid happening around me and think about the giggles we would get if we were together - or I see one of the many people here in motorised wheelchairs getting along and doing their thing and I think of you. It can be lonely living alone, but unless you can find the one person who you think you can share with, there is no point in second best. Make the most of the space you have.

Linus and Bump - hello. Glad to here you are going well again. Hair is something I don't have any talent with anyway, mine stands up whether I'm pregnant or not. Self willed hair is what I have. Anyway, apart from the fact that mine fell out in chunks after being pregnant, I don't remember having much trouble with it. Give my love to Connor, hope those ears get better soon. Say thanks to Craig for behaving. It might give him such a shock that he does it more often. Kids = bah.

Happy - all advice on roses is free. Hope they all survive the learning process. You simply have to accept that some won't and I can remember killing off a few at the beginning through sheer ignorance and bliss. Now, I just make it a habit to give them a haircut, give them a spray of some sort of natural garden stuff to keep the aphids and bugs away (even the ones with boots) and give them some food and a security blanket (mulch) all at the same time. Apart from that, all I do is water once a week, pick off the dead and spotty leaves and pick the glorious flowers. The anticipation, the view of them and the smell is therapy for a busy life.

Teel - old buddy, don't you know how much we love and worry about you! Obviously so do your other friends. So if we don't hear from you for a few days, and start asking questions then we get more than a little over-excited. Learn to live with the concern my friend. You friend obviously had a real fright when she couldn't get hold of you and was putting some very bad thoughts to the scenario - as I did myself a couple of times some years back until your friend Annabel got in touch - and later Simon. Yes she could have tried your mobile, but maybe she just didn't think of it or maybe she couldn't bear the thought of it not being answered either! Next time you decide to go away - put out a broadcast message to at least one person in each of the groups of your vast circle of friends.

Holly, good for you in the garden. It sounds like it will be very nice in a week or two. I love rhubarb. It's always been a favourite. My Dad used to grow great clumps of the stuff. We used to eat it raw as well. I seem to remember we ate so much of it one day, there wasn't enough left for Mum to make pudding that night. We were not popular with Father as he rather fancied rhubarb crumble. If we try to grow it up here we have to treat it as an annual plant and pull it out and throw it away after a few months. It does not grow well and the stalks are really skinny and mostly lacking in flavour. Last time we were in England, Chris and I made piggies of ourselves with rhubarb scones and pies and pastries. Yum Yum. Not good for the waistline all those puddings.
Grief is a funny thing. Sometimes it takes years to get over a death. Living with the aftermath such as your friend has endured can cause the grief to last longer as well. Generally speaking, a psych person I know told me that it takes at least two years for deaths of close family members as a general rule. Some friends as we all know as closer than some of our families - this means just as long if not longer.

Well it is Saturday. I have the dentist this afternoon to rebuild a tooth, and back to Jason the torturer at 9.00 this morning and then Body Balance class, so I better get a move on. I'd best do some shopping, I'm almost out of vegetables and fruit and need a few bits and pieces, but considering I haven't done a full grocery shop in nearly 3 weeks I'm doing okay. I and emptying some of the packets from the pantry and meat out of the freezer.
Oh and by the way, scales moved downward for a change this morning. I had a bad time last weekend and saw them move up to 74 one morning - up 2 kilos - but gradually through the week they returned to the normal boring 72k although I had been glimpsing 71.5 occasionally. This morning I stepped on and 71.5k came up and stayed - hallelujah. Long may it last.

[Tig]

Hello, All! Even though I don't post much more than once a week, I do read almost daily. I hope all my ESP discussions and comments have made it across the states and seas.

We picked up Slim's motorcycle at the dealership this morning. He gave me fright with a scary episode of a clutch vs. accelerator vs. brake vs. a car vs. TigHeartAttack. We all survived with nary a scratch. (Nary=None )

He's spent most of the afternoon riding up and down our street practicing starting, stopping, and turns.

We are having the Motorcycle Blessing on Monday night. I spent this afternoon moving tables and chairs into the FL room (of course) and the patio in preparation. And cleaning. In between running to the road to make sure I could still hear the ROAR of his most beloved Harley.

This morning we got up ultra early so we could go to the beach to watch the sun rise (only because Slim couldn't sleep ONE MINUTE LONGER). The beach has been remarkably repaired from last year's hurricane damage compared to the last time we were there. Then we went to breakfast. It was still an hour and a half before the dealership opened so we went for a leisurely ride through the fancier (aka pricier) areas along the beach. FUN!

No race this weekend, so tomorrow will be another neighborhood run. On Sunday after church we are going to go help a guy unload his furniture and boxes. He finally found a place to rent - he's been living in a motel for the past month. Housing here is very expensive and hard to find right now. I think part of it is that people in Miami are getting fed up with their high housing costs and evacuating from hurricanes for more than double if not triple the amount of time on the road that those in our area spend.

Next weekend our two dearest darling grandsons will come visit us while their parents spend time painting their house. We've registered them for the 5K that we will be running. I only need to finish, so if the boys want to walk, I'm fine with that. If they want to run, I hope I can keep up!

Later!

[MELODY525]

Happy Weekend my Worldly chick Friends!
Teel~ You did give us a fright also but I thought you had mentioned a future excursion and was praying that was true! We all care and I am sure your "in person" friends would even more....so don't be too mad at her. she loves you
glad the visit was well and I would have loved the "castle" as it has so much room for me to zip around in but the stairs might pose a small prob;em! Hope you are feeling well and a bit rested from the time away. I can't believe I said linus and bum!

Holly~ I am surprised at no PAINTING??? I would have thought that 1/2 the neighborhood by now would be a different color!!!
Hope the dh has success with the job interview and your headache today finds another head to locate too!

Happy~ thanks and not sure where that feeling came from. I really am not all that happy with my "other" website. they just don't seem to "care" all that much. guess it came to me as a surprise all over again!!! If it wasn't for a few friends I would leave there all together. (sigh) I am playing the lottery in hopes of moving closer to you! You and DH can come and direct my landscapers then!!! Hope there is time for Happy and you have done some good things for yourself as well!

Shad~ guess it takes time for a job to settle down! Been so long since I had to get a NEW one that I forget! Take some hammock time and finish that book.....or is it getting cooler now?!?!? I too think of all of you and when I see something I laugh at what we would have said together. Jen was just asking about you on Thursday. We talk about you all like you are "real" if you get my picture Happy sunday when you awake!

Tig~ Very good for you and slim getting home in one piece and have a great Blessing!! Are the neighbors as thrilled as Slim???? enjoy and stay safe!!! It's such a shame about the hurricanes and tornadoes and such and what they do to peoples lives but alas we are helpless except to evacuate. Easy for me to say cause by the time these storms get her they are usually spent! Enjoy the beach and I love the walks you get to have there. Have a great time with the DGSs too!!

Linus~ I am so glad again that you and Andy are happy. We enjoyed sending it as much as you getting it. It warms our insides!!! Jen and I had a good chuckle over your accent as I have a neighbor down the hall that is from Scotland and I told Jen to times her accent by 10 and that was YOU!!! I was a bit surprised myself that I didn't say WHAT every 5 minutes. Must have been a good ear day for me!! But then f*ck translates so well in any language.....no wonder we can understand each other! Sorry to hear about Connor and send ((((HUGS))))) and tell Craig that he better behave at least till Bump comes along!!! <-----Aunt Fannie

Been cooking and now have to do some cleaning. The bedroom is a disaster area. These last 2 weeks have been a bit too busy for me and I am trying to make Mel time here!!!!
Tomorrow the wind is supposed to be gone and temps in the 70's! should be good for riding....maybe alongside Tig and Slim!!! I will get the car wax out and do a good job on the chariot!! I am also going to clean off the A/C in the bedroom JIC I need it to sleep with! Hope the weekend holds fun and sun for all of you!

[happy2bme]

'Morning chickies

It's going to be a beautiful weekend that will no doubt be over in a flash. I've got lots to do around the house. Next Friday I go back to Chicago to pick mum up and bring her back for a visit. I'll be spending the weekend there and I will be eating pizza. I sure do MISS Chicago pizza. So I have to be extra good this week and earn my treat.

Lots to clean and fix and polish and get outside and enjoy some fresh pollen filled air - achoo, achoo - 'scuse me. But at least the sun is shining.

Gotta run, first load of wash is ready for the dryer. Hope you all have a great day, will be back tonight to catch up.

[linus]

hi chickies just a wee quicky as im off to the pub ,as im feeling so much better i need some me time too lol ,ill be back tomorow to update you all rest easy and clean well and ill speak to you all tomorrow
kirsty +bump

[Meadow]

A very merry un-birthday to all the worldly chicks!

Spring is here, the grass has riz, I wonder where the squirrels is?



Open the windows and let the Spring air in

[Shad]

Meadow, thank you for the Un-Birthday wishes. Think maybe I will have an un-birthday day today. Yesterday was a run, run, run faster day. Nothing seemed to be in reach all day. Love the 'Smile it's catching' bug.

Linus - Hope you enjoy the pub. You certainly need some me time and you need the relaxation that comes with being with friends. Hope the smoky atmosphere of the pub doesn't upset you tho'. Enjoy yourself and have a wonderful time.
Don't know about Scottish pubs but the English ones we went into were always full of smoke and no air filtering, unlike here where hardly anyone smokes indoors anymore - mainly because there are only a couple of places you can smoke in public houses now. Smoking is becoming a no no in the lands downunder. Queensland law now states that there is no smoking in restaurants even outdoor ones. Pubs and clubs can have rooms for smoking but they can not be anywhere near where food is served. The shopping plazas and malls have long been no smoking zones as are offices and Govt deparments and now a new law has been introduced so that smoking is not permitted in open air shopping malls, parks where children play and the beaches. Tourists have a problem on the Gold Coast because they are told to swim between the flags (livesavers on duty) but they can not smoke on the beach between the flags. I understand Victorian State Law is to follow suit this coming summer and NZ has had these laws for years. The dreaded weed is losing it's hold.

Happy - I think weekends are on double quick time. How come I can get up early on a weekend and go to bed late and get a whole raft of things done in about half the time it takes a Monday or Tuesday to go past?
I don't think we had any Chicago Pizza when I was there, did we? Whats the difference between a Chicago pizza and an anywhere else pizza?? Enoy the trip home to get Mum. I'm sure you will enjoy being with the family again even if it is only for a couple of days. We look forward to hearing the tales of the MIL in the new house over the coming weeks.

Mel - over here hammock time is relative. Actually it is just as nice in the winter as the summer - no flies or mossies! and less humidity. Temps only drop at night really. Summer temps are around 20 - 35C (50 - 100) night and day with high humidity. Winter temps go from 8 - 25C (45 - 80F) so you can see that is really is only night time that gets cool. I don't have a real winter wardrobe, I simply put a jacket over the summer clothes - you get to take it off around 10.00am and put it back on around 5.00pm. No winter here really - although don't tell a Queenslander that, you will probably get throttled since they get out the winter woollies once the temp gets down below 20C.

Oh yes I am 'real'. There's plenty of 'real' me. Should I cut a hunk off and send it over so you can see how 'real' I am!

Tig - It is so good to hear of Slims delightful excitement with the Harley. I was reading the entry and thinking back to the excitement in the kids eyes when they saw the Christmas tree and all it's goodies. I hope he and you get much joy and fun out of the new purchase and you get to go places that give you much pleasure together. I hope the neighbours survive the interim period of Slim getting used to the machine. I guess we need a picture of the big beastie so we can picture the two of you riding off into the sunset to the next 5KM race somewhere. Blessings on the Blessing for Monday.

Yesterday was a day of not a lot being done around the house and lots of things that I had to get in the car and go out for.
Jason the torturer has sorted out a new method of achieving his goals for me. We went through them yesterday and I will try them out again at tomorrows session. Since I have had to change my times at the gym, I will have to factor another session in during the week somehow. Jason suggests I stay at the four during the week and put in a biggy on Saturday. There is such a lot to do at the house that I may do an evening session instead and see how that works out. No doubt it will take some time to get it to the 'organised' state and still have some day left at the weekend.
I also went to the Dentist and had a tooth rebuilt and it looks pretty good. The next and last thing to be done is the root canal job on the tooth next to it. That won't be happening until May because that will be the next time I get paid and I'll have to watch the pennies until then. Then I did some shopping and came home - did a LindaT and cooked a few bits and pieces for lunches for next week. I can't afford all these bought lunches any more. $5.50 a pop for a sandwich - yikes - even if it is a MYO. (make your own - they supply the bread, roll or wrap and every type of filling you might like to put on the bread and you build a sandwich of up to 350g. If you exceed the 350g then you get charged extra). Buying fruit is also so expensive in the city. So it's homegrown for me.
Then a friend rung and told me she has quit her job, lots of crying on the shoulder. I didn't sympathise. She has been *****ing on about the job for years and should have gotten out sooner. Now they have given her so much grief she is on the verge of a breakdown and is still wondering what she did. I keep telling her that she is not the only one to blame, but that she is being used as a whipping boy. She has this impression that because she is fat and over 40 she will have trouble getting another job - she has only ever worked within the food industry. I keep telling her that she can fix the fat, but will never be able to fix the 40 and it is her attitude that holds her back not her appearance. Let's face it, I had the same attributes when I completely changed my job and my income in 1998 and it's never done me any harm. So anyway to cut a long story short, she wants lessons in Microsoft Word and Excel and she wants me to help her. I will have to find some time to sort out some stuff and get her on to it. It's going to be a bit difficult since I don't think she has Ms Office on her machine at home and so won't be able to practice. I may have to try to fix my old computer and lend it to her to play on. Shucks another job for the list.

Right well having spent far more time on the computer than I can afford, I'm off to catch up on yesterdays stuff and get onto todays stuff - more sanding, more tile removal in the hall and mow the lawn before it gets up to the windowsill level.

See ya

[Hollyhock]

NIc e to pop in for a peaceful read through. Everyone sounds pretty darn wonderful!!!
Spirng has sprung in BC for Meadow. I have a few squirrels if you want some.

I wanted to say thank you Shad for your comments yesterday.Youa re right of course. I think My flower bed outside this winddow will be the official Ben garden. I cant think of it any other way.
Thanks to everyone else for their kind words and well wishes!!!
Quietish morning( when DH wasn't babbling about his creepy boss,lol).Went to see Grandma this aft, dug up some day lillies!
Came home for early supper. The boys are out to watch hockey. DD just had a bath. I havea MOUNTAIN of tidying and cleaning to do. I did do some painting today. I will FINISH the floor after church tomorrow. Then I need to paint the stair well. Then I can build the fort!!!! When I got home last night DH was down there playing pool, weehee!!!
Hope everyone is happy !!

[MELODY525]

Holly~ Hope the Ben Garden blooms away this summer!
Glad your headache is gone too and hope you enjoy your new chair and stones!!!

Meadow~ The Spring graphics are very cheery in our new home!!
Hope you are cheery as well!!! I ha going to have an UN-birthday today! The weather is gorgeous and the new canary is singing his heart out!

Shad~ Hope the friend appreciates you and Jason is not to hard a task master this week! Good luck! Have a great week. i want to move to a place with temps like yours

Linus~ Did you both have a great time????? Which one of you was the designated driver

Happy~ Hello my busy friend. Glad you are getting it all done. Will there be time soon for you and DH to put the feet up and actually have time to drink those smoothies?? By the way....will DH be wearing a sarong too??? I will bring my new camera from Xmas

Well girls I don't want to waste a minute of fresh air later and have a lot to do before I can go out. My Eco Challenge/MT challenge(the other website) was not good this week. No inches or lbs lost. I am just BARELY 170. therefore I must do better this week. when I was working I didn't drink as much as I do by myself. OOPS! Have a peaceful day and take care.

[Hollyhock]

Mel~ I MUST do better too.

I just dug out 5' diameter circles around two poles by the road and planted tiger lilies!!!! DH and I cleared out the back hall closet. 90% of the crap is going to the dunp!! I am amazed he is throwing stuff out but very thrilled!!! Amazingly there is now room for winter coats,boots and the kids back packs! TA Da!!

A game of Go Fish is in my immediate future,then floor painting and then a shower and the making of a brilliant meal!!!!

We didn't go to church. Farmers are planting corn today so I would only have 2 kids another mom offered to teach! It iwas soooooo nice to to have to get dressed and go anywhere!!