Well i have just moved to 'Blogger'. It's going to take some getting used to. I hope i can find you all over there. It will still be called 'Stop The Clock' and i will just call the old one 'Stop The Clock Archive', if i lose it so be it.
Here is my new address...
Life has been hectic around here lately hence i have had to delete all my alerts and start again, there just has not been enough hours in the day.
What's been happening....
Well as soon as we got home from Norfolk i was back on the net and found a sheep farm B&B down near Rye and by Tuesday we were there. We went to Rye, Hastings and Battle. Half a mile down the lane from the farm was a lovely little Pub doing great meals with a real cosy atmosphere too. The landlord was the spit of Clint Eastwood in his younger days and there was a picture of Clint on the wall.
After a relaxing 3 days it was home and time to start emptying the kitchen. I must have thrown half the kitchen away. Stuff came out from the backs of cupboards that hadn't seen the light of day for **** years. But now i have a nice new kitchen with new cooker, fridge and washing machine. And all curtesy of Mum who died last christmas.
Nearly everything has been put back and a home found for and last Sunday i cooked my first roast dinner in my new oven. I also cooked butternut squash for the first time, which everyone liked, so i will probably do it again.
Also i have just started going to the Gym. Sent by the doctor i hasten to add. They send you for 12 weeks and then you either stop or start paying full price. Unfortunately my doctor caught me and got me on the scales and got out her tape measure.
But the upside is i have a nice young personal trainer called Tony.... Can't be bad. Due to sore joints he has me started very slow on the bike and treadmill with a bit of resistance work in between.
The sorest bit was my bum on the saddle. I reminded him that i needed to sit down later and wanted to use it again, and could i get blisters on it. He laughed and said no but i am not so sure. So twice aweek will find me peddling away. The silly thing is that if this works to get me fitter and i am sure it will, there is no way you can stop after 12 weeks. You will just go back to how you were before, so you will have to fork out to join the Gym and pay the full price each week, and i bet that will be an arm and leg!!
Jenny <><
Well we have just got back from a week’s holiday in Norfolk. We stayed in a small cottage a few miles from Kings Lynn. The cottage was a grade 2 listed building very pretty, clean and tidy. You used the back door only and the front door had a huge lock on it with a key that must have been about 10 inches long. One thing was strange about it though, it had no feel to it, no vibes. It felt like a new build. For an old building it felt like it had never been lived in, or maybe even worse it had a slightly dead feel to it. I found it very hard to pray in any room, very soon my thoughts were swept away and I found myself thinking about something entirely different and completely forgetting what my first intentions had been which was to have a chat with God. Most odd.
The first night under the door to the living room came the first black beetle, then another and another, very soon we had a full set of John, Paul, George and Ringo. Two got put out of the back door by me and two found the bottom of hubby’s shoe. The next night came the beetle’s tribute band and thereafter every tribute band that existed on a nightly basis. They especially enjoyed hiding in my g’daughters shoe, LOL!!
Why is it though we find a cottage out in the middle of nowhere but it always seems to end up beingon a busy or noisy road? The road we were on was a very long one and at one end (although we never went that way) was a quarry. It seems that the lorries for the quarry started out on the move at 4.15am or that was the earliest they were heard. Now this never bothered me or woke me up but it did some of the family as there was not only the noise of them rumbling by but the cottage sometimes shook as well. We was also in the area for the RAF training jets which one morning screamed low overhead making daughter jump out of bed come flying down the stairs yelling ‘what on earth was that’, thinking maybe world war 3 had started. Everyday we would see them flying somewhere we went but never as low as that morning.
West Norfolk itself was nice and there was plenty to do for adults but not so much for kids especially if the weather was wet. We managed to dodge the rain though and the weather was warm even when it wasn’t sunny and the kids enjoyed themselves.
Sex and violence – those of a more sensitive nature look away.
One day we went to a deer and animal farm. There was not a lot there, one llama, sheep, goats, that sort of thing. They did a 45 minuet deer safari though which we went on with two old farmers, one giving a talk, one driving, with lovely Norfolk accents which you don’t hear much nowadays. It reminded me of my childhood on holiday at my Nan and G’dad’s in EastNorfolk. Anyway back to the story.
At the end of the safari as we were stopping there was this big old rat running around the yard. Now this rat had learned a few lessons and slunk around the outskirts of the bushes and mostly kept well hidden. But as we sat in the orchard next to the yard having a drink at the picnic benches just outside the gift shop and tearoom we could see it skulking around. But not so the baby rat. There he was meandering backwards and forwards across the orchard without a care in the world. Once he nearly got caught by a dog that thankfully for him was on a lead. Then a lad working there picking up apples in a sack took a few swings at him with the sack but missed every time. I rather think that if we, the visitors, hadn’t been there he wouldn’t have missed! But also in this orchard were some Jackdaws pecking away at the crumbs etc.
Now Ratty being young and not streetwise walked within 6 inches of Jackie’s nose, or in this case beak. Jackie lunged at Ratty pecking him on the back and tossing him a few inches in the air. Did Ratty run away? No! He turned and stood back on his hind legs and went for Jackie. As he strolled away Jackie went for him again, and again Ratty reared and attacked back. Back and forth this went, with us and others laughing and cheering them both on as only a baying crowd at a prize fight can. Who won? Jackie backed off first and went back slightly shamefaced to pecking the ground once again and Ratty with a last backward glare strolled through the fence into the Shetland pony’s paddock.
Now for the sex!!
In the orchard were a few brown hens, again pecking away at the crumbs left by us humans. One was particularly friendly and kept coming under our bench and walking around our feet. Well there she was just but a few feet way with her back to us pecking happily when suddenly we heard in the distance ‘cookadoodledoo’ (or something similar). Then head down and neckstraight out in front, running at full pelt came a small white with black spots cockerel. He stopped just by Henny and with barely a cursory howdydoody jumped on her back. Henny raised her tail feathers. It was all over in seconds. Ever the lady she just shook herself and carried on eating. He stood and preened himself and after another, this time, ‘congratulatory’ cookadoodledoo went on to eye up the other hens before having a rest.
We learned later that this wasn’t a farm cockerel but he had turned up a fewdays earlier. Nuff said. This wasn’t the only ‘farm antics’ that had been observed either. I’ll refrain from mentioning the pigeons and the goats!!
Ah, the things that amuses one on holiday.
Jenny <><
Well i have been out spending today in readiness for my new kitchen. One cooker, washing machine and fridge. I also bought hubby a new Tom Tom (sat nav) ... He will give the old one to our daughter. I just hope they all fit and come with nothing wrong, We are getting them the day before they start on the kitchen on the 15th September.
So that's it now, no more spending till birthdays and christmas come, but nothing more for me. We still have to have our summer holiday yet and that is coming up very soon. And guess what the long range weather forcast is!!!!!
Daughter-in-law has had a bad week, the place where she works was hit by lightening and has burnt to the ground. It was a visitors centre at a country park and has only been built a few years. They are hoping to get it re-built very quickly and she will keep her job thankfully. There is an old barn next door which was saved and they can serve tea and coffee in that on a smaller scale until the centre is re-built.
G'son had a scrape on his elbow today, i asked him how he got it... his reply was that he was about to dive to catch a ball and remembered he was wearing his man-bag which cost him £15 bought when he went to the car show. So he rolled over to protect it... Hence his hurt elbow. Now remember he is only 8 years old, but he loves his man-bag. :-)
Hubby's finger has healed up. They left a stitch in which he found later and took out himself and that took away a lot of pain he was having in one spot. It has put him off of letterboxes for life though i think.
It has been very quiet this year as far as Maggie (magpies) has been concerned. There hasn't been many squirrels around yet to annoy but hubby saw something funny the other day. A wood pigeon came down on nextdoors bird bath. He took a couple of beak fulls of water to drink and then looked both ways twice to see if he was being watched and then put out his wings and belly dived into the bath. He splashed about a bit and then got out. Looked around againand then with wings wide jumped in and did it all over again. Not having been caught out enjoying himself he lumbered waterlogged into the sunshine to preen and dry out.
Well i expect when the acorns fall off the tree the squirrels will be back and the real fun will begin.
Jenny <><
The price of Petrol versus Printer Ink
>
> All these examples do NOT imply that petrol is cheap; it just illustrates how outrageous some prices are....
> You will be really shocked by the last one!
> (At least, I was...)
>
> Compared with Petrol......
>
> Think a gallon of petrol is expensive?
>
>
> This makes one think, and also puts things in perspective.
>
> Diet Snapple 16 oz £1.29 .. £10.32 per gallon
>
> Lipton Ice Tea 16 oz £1.19 .£9.52 per gallon
>
> Ocean Spray 16 oz £1.25 ...... £10.00 per gallon
>
> Brake Fluid 12 oz £3.15 ...... £33.60 per gallon
>
> Vick's Nyquil 6 oz E8.35 ... £178.13 per gallon
>
> Pepto Bismol 4 oz £3.85 . £123.20 per gallon
>
> Tippex 7 oz £1.39 ....... . £5.42 per gallon
> And this is the REAL KICKER...
> Evian water 9 oz £1.49..£21.19 per gallon! £21.19 for WATER and the buyers don't even know the source
> (Evian spelled backwards is Naive.)
> You don't even want to compare it with perfume or after shave.
> Ever wonder why printers are so cheap?
> So they have you hooked for the ink.
> Someone calculated the cost of the ink at................
> (you won't believe it....but it is true........)
> £5,200 a gal.. (five thousand two hundred pounds)
>
> So, the next time you're at the pump,be glad your car doesn't run on water, or Tippex, Pepto Bismol, Nyquil or God forbid, Printer Ink!
>
> Just a little humour to help ease the pain of your next trip to the petrol pump...
> And - If you don't pass this along to at least one person,
> your exhaust will fall off!!
> Okay, your exhaust won't really fall off....but you might run out of toilet paper
A friend cheered me up with this!!!
Jenny <><
>
The other Saturday me and hubby was going to a church 'thing' up London. This should have been easy as i had already gone up on the Thursday, you just get on one train and get off at required station. Well, on the Saturday i had been standing most of the day at our church Summer Fayre, hubby had been at work all night then came to the church fayre. We went for a late lunch early tea made our way to a local station (but not our usual one as we parked our car in a nearby church car park). This is a very churchy tale at the moment. Ha! Ha! We then went to get the train.
Well, there it was, but it wasn't going all the way to where we wanted. We let it go. The next one was not going all the way as well????
By then we thought we would ask. All the tracks on the eastern side was having track works done. No District Line, Circle, or Jubilee line.
Then began our catalogue of errors.
We got on the wrong train. But an underground worker going home on the train told us how to get to where we wanted to go. This invovled a bus and another train.
Unfortunately by the time we found the bus stop London Bridge became Tower Bridge in my mind. It was pretty obvious when we got off the bus that there wasn't a train station in sight. So after some more help by a passer by we got back on the next bus and off we went again.
Then there was the conversation we had at Parliament Square as to which way we had to go as we turned the map every which way!!!!!
We did eventually get there, worn out, aching, and a lot later than we intended. Going home we got a taxi to the main station and one train home, hooray!
Another misfortune has befallen hubby. While putting some leaflets through letter boxes adog went for the leaflet of which his finger was underneath. He whipped his hand out fast and we know not whether the damage done to his finger was a bite or the letter box or both. Needless to say he ended up at the hospital having 7 stitches put into his finger tip and was told he was very lucky as he had just missed cutting the tendon. G'son enjoyed watching the stitches going in and the Tetnus jab he had to have.
My third story is a good bad one. We are at last having a new kitchen, a new fitted one. So i am going to get a new cooker, washing machine and fridge. Bad news is 'Elf and Safety' say you cannot have a cooker within so many feet of a window or door. So this means the cooker will be going right in the middle of my longest wall and worktop and i will be losing my serving hatch through to the dining room. I will no more be able to work in the kitchen and talk to everyone in the next room. And i will be losing worktop space. And (another 'and') there is so much choice with appliances, where do i start. The work probably will not start till September due to holidays and getting time off work, but the time will go quick.
This means i will have to go through cupboards and throw things away. Ho Hum! There is stuff in the top cupboard that hasn't seen the light of day for a good many years. Anyone remember Tupperware?
Jenny <><
My favourite time of year, 'Wimbledon'. I don't think Federer will do it this year, or Murray, but we will see. My other favourite sport is snooker.
Well we have had another death in the family, my hubby's much loved uncle has died. We all (the family) sat round his bed all day Saturday until the evening when the machines were turned off. He had no children of his own but was loved and respected by all the family and neighbours and to some of the nephews was very much a father figure. He had gone to hospital the week before with bad stomach pains and during the operation to remove a mass they had found, it turned out to be worse than they thought.
He had bowel cancer plus a burst abcess. They also found that it had spread to all his main organs and if he had come round from the operation he only had about 2 weeks more to live. Thankfully he never came round and knew this, he went down to the operating theatre laughing and smiling and thinking he would soon be home. Lets hope this will be the end of funerals for a while. The problem is we are all getting older.
Changing the subject, i still haven't booked a holiday yet and i am getting a bit desperate. Help!! The g'kids are expecting to go somewhere so is my daughter. I will have to really get down to looking. The weather doesn't inspire me, one day hot the next cold. I'm not so bothered if the weather is bad but the kids don't take too kindly to being shut in some strange place. They always want to 'go somewhere' cos there 'bored'. Trouble is if i find a place that is a reasonable price i wonder what is wrong with it that it hasn't been snapped up during the school holidays. I think i shall just have to go for it and hope for the best.
I am still struggling with too many books. I am trying hard to get rid of some to make room but i have just bought another lot. I have little piles of them all over the place. This is what happens when you work in a bookshop. Still it keeps my friend in books to read whenshe is on holiday. Some of my books have been all round the world. Shame i couldn't go with them!!
I must make the most of it though as we are really struggling at work. The internet is taking its toll on our takings. Being a Christian bookshop it is a specialist shop. You don't get passing trade, you come because you want something. Unfortunately so many people and churches are buying on line now a lot of shops are suffering and are having to close. Once lost we can never be replaced, shops cost too much and what a loss to the area. We don't just sell books, but cd's, gifts, cards, childrens games etc. We also have a coffee shop area so people can meet their mates over a coffee or have a good look at the books before they buy. Sounds like i am giving a sales pitch. But seriuosly it will be a great loss to the community and i am too old to go looking for another job.
Going to go and get tea now and watch Murray playing his first match.
Jenny <><
A while ago i could not get onto aol, it would not connect so i clicked onto 'one click fix',.... big mistake. It deleted my connections and connected me up again via dial-up; but i'm on wireless.
For some reason i could not get onto 'internet explorer' properly and the aol 'help' man in India suggested i find my ethernet cable and use that. I had put that away in a safe place years ago. Anyway to cut a long story short, today i finally got re-connected. Hooray!! I have had to delete my alerts though and will have to start again.
Also a few weeks before i disconnected myself, i got a bad case of RSI (repetative strain injury) in my right wrist. This is because i have an optical mouse and use it on my thigh with lots of small movements side to side all evening, every evening. My daughter and i call it 'mouse hand'. I had never realised how painfull this could be, i also lost all use of my hand for a few days. Needless to say i had to give the computer up for a while and rest my wrist. It still aches when i do things with it and as soon as i start using the mouse i can feel it. So i will have to be careful and perhaps limit myself.
Has anyone who lives in or near Lakeland Florida been to the 'Florida Outpouring'. I have been watching it on 'God TV' every night for the last 40 days or more, it has been going for about 61 days.
For anyone who hasn't heard of it, Todd Bentley went to Ignited Church Lakeland to do a 5 day healing conference and there was such an outpouring of healing that it has continued with the venues getting bigger and bigger. Now they are in a 10,000 seater tent at an airfield. The 4 hour tv recording of it is going out to 214 countries around the world and people are going to Lakeland from all over the world too. Our ministers wife has been for a week and so has other ministers in our area. It has been going long enough for people to go back to their doctors and hospital to get it all their healings verified and come back and show the doctors letters. Todd Bentley is trying to get as many of these healings proved from doctors reports.
I don't just believe these things automatically, i always watch with a critical eye, although i firmly believe God heals as i have had first hand experieince within my own family. But after watching every day for over 40 days i have seen some remarkable healings take place and i would say the vast majority are genuine. Our minister's wife said you have to be there to understand what the atmosphere feels like and anyone who has felt the power of God upon a place will understand what she means.
Well, to change the subject, i am on holiday for a week and guess what? I have a bad throat, had a funny tum, pulled a muscle in hip trying to turn in bed and the weather is awful. But never mind, eh!
Also, The house is sold, everything is all done and settled, it took 5 months all but 2 days. 2 1/2 months for probate and 2 1/2 months from puting the house on the market to completing. Thankfully that's all over. It was sad when the house finally went and we could no longer go there, the keys were handed over, but i am glad its all finished now. Time to go forward, (my back room is still full of mum's stuff though).
Jenny <><
I hadn't realised how long it had been since i last wrote anything, time does fly.
Well the house sale is going through but i am not counting my chickens just yet, not till the keys are handed over and the cash is in the bank.
I have found some interesting things in Mum's photo tins and i have photocopied them all and put them in my Family Tree folder. I have a lot of family birth, marraige and death certificates all around the end of the 1800's early 1900's. One marraige certificate is made of a kind of cloth or more accurately two pieces of cloth crudely tacked together with large stitches. I also have a birth certificate made of cloth too.
I have World War 1 medals of my great uncle who died in action and lots of letters and receipts that paint the picture of what life was like around that time. For my Nan life was hard and sometimes violent but she came through it with 10 out of her 12 children surviving to adulthood. The only thing is now i have a lot more questions and no one to ask. When i was younger i would not have been so interested, what is it about getting older that makes you want to know more about your past??
Changing the subject, i have spent countless days looking for a holiday. Do you think i can find one, no. All i want is a cottage in the west country for a week near the end of August, i have never had this much trouble before finding somewhere!!!
Another change of subject i have just treated myself to Sky +, it has 15 God channels and Animal Planet, probably another reason why it has been so long since i wrote anything, LOL.
Jenny <><
I did a post with pictures. I saw them with my own eyes and in my practice blog. Then they were gone, just the boxes with the red cross.
??????????
Jenny <><
Well Mum's house went up for sale this week and we have had four people round to view already. The first person has put in an offer and really wants it because it is close to the school and the sports centre where her daughter goes. She is recently divorced and lost a house just before christmas. She has seen it twice, bringing her Mum, sister, and brother-in-law round and they are all lovely.
The second one wants it too and is waiting to see what the first one wants to do. He just wants to move to the area and has plans to knock it about abit.
I don't think the third lady wants it at all but we have yet to hear.
The fourth are a young couple who have fallen in love with it and want it desperately asking what can they do to get it, it will be their first home together and they are both local people. They know we have had an offer but are hoping.
Me and my sister feel so guilty. We have said yes to the first lady but have been told to keep it on the market until she has a survey. This young couple also want it, they know the score though. The estate agent said when you have a few after the house they usually have a 'race to survey'. The first to get a surveyor through the door gets it, but we are not happy with that.
Selling houses never used to be like this. What makes it harder is not one of them is in a chain. How often does that happen. Four potential buyers and not one in a chain. I hope the first lady gets it or if not it is because she has dropped out. I also hope the young couple don't offer us a substantial amount more and put us in a dilemma.
It's a hard world out there.
Jenny <><
It's been a long while but i thought i ought to have a go.
Thanks to those who e-mailed asking how i was and apologises to those i forgot to get back to.
What's been happening. Well, my sister and daughter went to the chapel of rest to see Mum, i sat in the office with my g'kids. Somehow they decided Mum had lost her legs. Exactly where they thought they had gone i don't know. The lady behind the desk assured us they only take them off if they are wooden. I went and found them, then my sister asked well where is her foot then. My response was, 'on the end of her leg, where do think'. Foot was duly found where i said it would be. By now we couldn't really stop laughing and it was a good thing that there was no one else visiting a loved one or they would of wondered what was going on.
My sister put a plastic bag in the coffin ( cos Mum was always rattling one at inappropriate moments) and a newspaper and pencil with rubber so she could do the crossword she loved. Youngest g'kids wanted to go and say goodbye so after a lot of thought it was decided to take them and we would only find out if it was the right thing to do after the event.
I was given the job of taking them in although my daughter decided to stay as well. Anyway, they had brought pictures and cards to put in as well and duly added them to carrier bag and paper etc. when suddenly g'son (8yrs) whips out the camera and says can i take a photo now. Well you should have seen our faces. Before we could get our heads round it g'daughter took two photos for him as he wasn't tall enough to get good shots. Then away went the camera.
Daughter decided to take them off of his camera and has them in a folder on the pooter. It would be too tempting for an eight year old not too use them in the future either for monetary gain or horror factor.
The kids handled it very well and it was the best thingwe could do. It certinly taught them about the circle of life and when the funeral came round they decided that was the boring bit and the get together afterwards and they wouldn't bother with that bit again. They said goodby to their great grandmother and moved on.
The undertaker walked the whole way in front of the hearse from the house to the church, walking straight through the red traffic light. We was nearly taking bets on when they would stop and he would get in, but he never did. He said, 'well it's a nice day and we were a bit early.'
Mum would have loved being the centre of attention and knowing she stopped all the traffic up the High Street. She would have seen the funny side of it all.
Since then we have tackled the Probate Form and are waiting for their appoinment for us to go and get probate and then we sell the house.
We have a stairlift to get rid of but nobody wants. She only had it for 3 weeks and it would be a real waste to throw it away.
Soon we will be having a go at emptying the loft which will probably mean more stuff ending up at my house. My back room is already full of things that are too good to chuck or have family memories.
Ah well soon it will be all over then it's the end of an era and as someone pointed out i now have become the head of the family. Help i'm not old enough yet.
Jenny <><
