Fun Monday - Clothes

Our lovely hostess this week is Hula Girl and this is our assignment:

I love prying information out of people...and I’m really nosey….ridiculously nosey. After much thought and consideration I’ve come up with the following topic….clothing…specifically clothing you can’t get rid of. We all have at least one or two items of clothing that we can’t part with, even if we can’t or don’t wear them. I want to know about yours. Show us if you have pictures or describe it in detail. Model it for us if you dare. Nothing naughty please-we don’t want to see your backside (or your front side) in that thong you foolishly bought in Cancun on vacation. Is it your old FFA jacket from high school (which my husband has)? A Grateful Dead concert t-shirt from 1978? A shirt from an old lover or that size *&! pair of jeans you hope you get into again one day? Or maybe the really large pair of jeans you wore before you lost 100 pounds or your grandma’s vintage wedding dress. Dig around in your closets and find something you want to share with us Monday. I can’t wait to see and hear about your choices.

18 months ago, this Fun Monday assignment would have filled a scrap book. Before we moved, I had a lot of storage space and I kept everything and boy where there some classic pieces of clothing that I couldn't part with. There was the metallic purple flouncy evening dress, the black and white taffeta ball gown and numerous other clothes from the days I worked in the city. Who knows when I might have needed that suit again? I had some lovely designer cast-offs from a friend that never ever fitted me properly but I just couldn't get rid of them.

And then we moved and my storage space shrunk to a quarter of what I had been used to and something had to give. I was so ruthless and if I hadn't worn it in a year, it went. So the items I have now are not those that have been with me for any length of time but are fairly recent purchases. It's not that I'm hanging on to them for any sentimental reason, it's that I bought them when I hit an all time low with my weight last year. Weight that I managed to put back on again last Christmas. So I have a yo-yo wardrobe, one lot of clothes for when I am a size 12 (US10) and another set for when I am a size 10 (US 8).

But there were one or two exceptions that I wouldn't get rid of and this is one of them


I bought this for a friend's wedding, I've lost track of how long ago it was but it must have been at least 7 or 8 years ago and I just love it. It's silk and has the most intricate embroidery on it. It was something which, left to my own devices, I would never have bought but said friend came with me and insisted it looked fantastic and she was right! I adore this jacket and I may only wear it once in a blue moon but I will always keep it.

Then there is a more recent purchase that another friend made me buy as she said it really suited me. There are two things about this top. One, it's pink and I really do not do pink. Second, it's flouncy and I really do not do flouncy either. But I bought it anyway because I can see what she means, it's just that it is so far out of my comfort zone that I'm really not sure I will ever wear it. I suspect it will become another of those long-term inhabitants that I can't quite bring myself to lose.


And then there's my slobbing about clothes. You know how once something is past it's best but it's so comfy that you just can't part with it? I have draws full of those. How many slobbing clothes does a girl need!? Some have stains that will never come out but I keep them to wear when I'm gardening or when I'm likely to get mucky because they couldn't possibly be worn in public.

I'm a lost cause, I really am.

Fun Monday #26

Our host for this week's Fun Monday is Molly from Return of the White Robin and our assignment is this:

For your assignment tell us about a happy memory from your childhood. If you have pictures, please show us your pictures.

Hmmm...happy childhood memories. I have few recollections of my childhood and I think that is to do with being an only child. Himself has 7 siblings to bounce memories off and they all seem to be able to remember things that happened when they were younger. Probably because they each have other people who experienced the same things to talk to about them and that helps either keep the memories fresh or to jog memories.

My childhood was not blissfully happy. My parents divorced when I was 9 and there was a battle royal for custody of me. A battle my father only wanted to win because he couldn't bear to lose any argument. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't beaten or abused or neglected in any way. My mother loved me and I'm sure my father did in his own way too. But if I tell you my earliest memory is of me being bundled into a car by my mother and her driving to some remote place where she sat and cried her heart out, that will give you a taster of how it was in our house. I later put two and two together and was able to work out that that was the occasion when my mother found out about my father's first affair. At least, I assume it was his first. It certainly wasn't his last.

But I do have distant memories of staying with my cousins on their farm and being allowed to run free and wild as long as we were home for dinner. We climbed walls, picked gooseberries, ran with the sheep, stacked bales of hay in the barn then climbed them and jumped off them, we dared each other to go into the field where the bull lived and helped out with the sheep dipping and sheering.

It was idyllic and looking back now those were amongst the happiest and most carefree days of my life. I wish life could be so carefree now.

Go over to Molly's place and see who else is participating this week!

Fun Monday #22

Our lovely hostess this week is Sauntering Soul and our assignment is this:

I know we all try to be sweet and kind to people the majority of the time. But let's face it....we also know that sometimes we can be a big jerk. It could be that you experience road rage from time to time. Perhaps you empty the coffee pot at work some mornings and don't feel like taking the time to start a new pot for the next person. Or maybe you don't return phone calls on a timely basis when you know someone needs a response from you. Have you ever "accidentally" ruined a favorite shirt of your spouse just because you didn't care for it? Come on - it's confession time! List the small things you do that make you a jerk and elaborate just a bit on each one. Please tell me I'm not the only jerk around here!

Oh no, you are most certainly not the only jerk around here!

Inconsiderate drivers - Most inconsiderate drivers will send my blood pressure through the roof. If I'm not in a good mood to start with, woe betide them! Stuff like cutting across in front of you because they can't be bothered to get in lane in plenty of time like every one else...particularly in road works where they think they can beat the queue and leave it to the last minute - bet your boots I'm not going to let you in. Or getting into the filter lane to turn left, knowing all the time they intend to turn right. Or, and this is the real one that gets me, not raising a hand in thanks when you've stopped to let them through...arrggghhh!! Anyone of these can result in me gesticulating and yelling obscenities or, and this is the worst of my driving jerkiness, tailgating. I do that too if I'm in a hurry and sod's law puts a really slow and overly considerate driver in front of me. It's bad bad bad and I so should not do it!

My inner jerk - my inner jerk tells me I always know the right way to do something. So what if it can be done in any number of ways to reach the same end? My way, people, is the right way! I have one of those little calendar things on my desk that has the date on tear-off pages that have little quotes on them. One I tore off and stuck to my pc screen. It says "For peace of mind, resign as general manger of the universe". I always have to manage and organise everything, not because I'm a control freak (although there could be a little of that) but more because I want everyone to get the best out of whatever it is they are doing and, well, I think I know best how they should do that. I hate it and really wish I didn't do it.

Dog-walking jerk - People who can't, or won't, keep their dog under reasonable control when out on walks. And if this ends up with me going ass over apex because my on-lead foster dog wants to chase your out of control dog, then rest assured you are going to feel the sharp end of my tongue. This will be followed by me muttering away to myself and storming off whilst glaring at the offending owner.

Then there are the miscellaneous things:

The "Yes I've left it to the last minute please don't state the obvious that I should have started a week ago" jerkiness. Which sits rather well with the "I've left it to the last minute please don't ask me stupid questions now" type of jerkiness.

Or there's the "Important occasion I've nothing to wear throw clothes out of the cupboard" jerkiness. And that one sits well with the "Important occasion why can't my hair go right today" one. Been there? I expect you probably have!

The "Get out of my kitchen!" jerkiness...Himself has learnt how to throw that one back at me. In spades!

And finally, the "Where the hell are my keys/mobile phone/purse" jerkiness. That's always a good one to start the day off with!

Now, head over to Sauntering Soul and see who else is admitting to being a jerk today!

Fun Monday #18

This week's Fun Monday host is Tales of a Southern Doll. This is our assignment:

My girlfriends and I all have Bucket Lists. I've been working on mine for several years now. Several weeks ago, Tiggerlane asked us all what was on our Bucket Lists. And what do you know, we ALL have them. But what is the point of the list, if you don't actually work to check things off of it? So here's what I want to know:

What have you done in your life that was worth doing? I want to know the moments in your life that you hope will be the ones to pass through your mind when your time comes. I hope that doesn't sound too morbid. This doesn't necessarily have to be items you have checked off your Bucket List, it can be those small moments that made you smile, or the time you got that huge promotion you deserved, or the first time your baby smiled at you out of pure joy. I want to know all the moments, big and small, that make life sweet! If you don't already have a running list of these in your mind, you should! These moments help you remember how much your life is worth living, and we all deserve to enjoy it.

This is not an easy Fun Monday. A life lived full of mediocrity does not such a deep Fun Monday post make!

Obviously there are many things that I'm proud of or am pleased happened but I'm not sure any of them are momentous enough that I will remember them when I throw off the mortal coil.

Surviving cancer is always something to be thankful for. OK, it wasn't the most immediately life-threatening cancer and the treatment fairly straightforward but, regardless of the type of cancer, dealing with the emotional effects is still hard. I hit rock bottom and, although I had friends for support (I think my family went into denial), I knew I had to find my own way to kick myself off the bottom. I did and I'm proud of that.

The Lurchers, of course. They make me smile every day. As the first dogs who have been my own, their memories will stay with me the longest I think. The unconditional love they give will be uppermost.

The work I do for Greyhound Gap. In the grand scheme of things it's not much, especially when compared to what a lot of the other volunteers do. But I hope I can look back and say "I did my bit".

Having the close friends that I have. For them I will always be thankful. I can only hope I am as a good a friend to them as they are to me.

So, for some more inspiring posts, head over to Tales of a Southern Doll to see who else is participating this week.

Fun Monday #17

Our Fun Monday host this week is Nekked Lizzard. Our assignment is this:

FIVE PICTURES - FIVE WORDS PER PICTURE. Any 5 (FIVE) pictures, any subject, and any 5 (FIVE) words to describe and/or explain each picture.

Beautiful clouds in the skyOlives in bowls for sale

Lurchers, they love to run

They love to sleep too

His friends, he remembers them


Head on over to the Nekked Lizards to see who else is participating this week.

Fun Monday #15

This week's Fun Monday is hosted by Robin, the Pensieve one. her assignment is to tell her our favourite inspiring quotations.

You actually got my favourite quotation in last week's Fun Monday, but in case you missed that one, here it is again:

"A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time. When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, The one I feed the most." George Bernard Shaw.

Perhaps it's time I took that quote to heart again and started feeding the good dog.

In fact, most of my favourite quotes come from George Bernard Shaw. Here are a few more:

"A fashion is nothing more than an induced epidemic"

"Hegel was right when he said that we learn from history that man can never learn anything from history."

"If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance."

"You are going to let the fear of poverty govern your life and your reward will be that you will eat, but you will not live."

There are a few others I really like too:

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. Judy Garland

I hope to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am.

And although this isn't really a true quotation but, being a bit of a Trekkie, it still makes me giggle:

"Bother," said Pooh, "Eeyore, ready two photon torpedoes and lock phasers on the Heffalump. Piglet, meet me in transporter room three. Christopher Robin, you have the bridge."

Writing this post has reminded me of another quote that I used to have pinned up on my wall.. It came from a Susan Howatch book, Glamorous Powers, and in it, she quoted from W.R. Inge at the beginning of many paragraphs. There was one in particular that really stuck with me and for the life of me I cannot remember what it is. I have just spent hours Googling but I can't find them. For once, Google has failed me. I had the book but it's long gone and I think I am going to have to buy it again because it's really going to annoy me now.

Head over to Robin's to see what other quotes inspire people!

Fun Monday #14

This week's Fun Monday host is Swampy over at Anecdotes, Antidotes & Anodes. This is her assignment:

Choose a topic/theme and make an alphabetical list of words, phrases, photos...however you want to share your topic/theme.

Topics can range from pet-peeves, vacations, people who have influenced your life, jokes, favorites, philosopher's quotes/sayings, birds, flowers...anything. The sky is the limit. Your ABC list can be depicted with words, photos, illustrations... You are limited only by your imagination. Be funny. Be serious. Be creative. Be sarcastic. Be there, or be square.

And, yes, of course you may bend the rules. Just entertain us. If you can't do all TWENTY-SIX, do as many as you can. (If you have kiddos, let them join the fun and help with the list. Make it a family, brainstorming session.)

I've pondered long and hard about what theme to use for my ABC list. Should I make it clever? Funny? Thought-provoking? Should I just break the rules and write something completely unrelated? No, but I am going to totally cheat! This was an A to Z meme that I was tagged with almost a year ago and I'm going to repeat it for this Fun Monday, although I have updated it a bit because it's amazing what's changed in the course of a year! Boring? Yes, sorry. Unimaginative? Oh yeah...it's that third Monday of the week brain fart thing!

A- Available or Single? – Ummm...neither actually!

B- Best Friends? – Lots but Niki, Ali, Nettie and Ginny immediately spring to mind.

C- Cake or Pie? – Pie

D- Drink of Choice? – Tea, or very strong kick-me-in-the-butt coffee

E- Essential item? – PC, mobile phone. How sad.

F- Favourite Colour? – Black. yes, yes, I know black isn't a colour it's a tone, don't be so picky. Tsk!

G- Gummi Bears or Worms? – Neither

H- Hometown? – Born in Cardiff, South Wales. Live in London

I- Indulgence? – Hmmm......sleeping in

J- January or February? – January, my birthday!

K- Kids and Names? – None of those!

L- Life is incomplete without? – Living

M- Marriage Date? – No way not ever

N- Number of Siblings? – Two younger step-brothers

O- Oranges or Apples? – Oranges

P- Phobias/Fears? – Ladders

Q- Favourite Quote? – A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time. When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, The one I feed the most

R- Reasons to smile? – Life is good...almost. And that's just good enough.

S- Season? – Assuming this means a favourite one....Autumn

T- Tag 3 People? – Nah, go ahead and do it if you feel like it!

U- Unknown Fact About Me? – If I told you it wouldn't be unknown anymore would it!?

V- Vegetable You Hate? – Broad beans

W- Worst Habit? – Thinking I know the right way to do everything when I don't.

X- X-rays You've Had? – Dental and chest

Y- Your Favourite Foods? – Thai, Chinese

Z- Zodiac? – Aquarius

Go visit Swampy to find out who else is participating this week!

Fun Monday #13

This week's host is Nikki and My Husband Calls Me Weird and this is her assignment:

1.) I don't know about you, but my family is great at creating strange words that only we know the meaning. Some were created when the kids were first learning to talk, others came about when our tongues were twisted and the word came out funny. Either way, the words stuck and we still use them in our daily conversations. What created words does your family use?! Please share the story behind the word if you remember. If you don't have a made up word then tell us about the unspoken way you communicate with someone. Do you and your significant other have a look that means "This party is boring, lets split" or do you have a look that your kids know means their butt is in serious trouble? Please share!! And a picture of the look would be very entertaining!

OR/AND

2.) In honor of St. Paddy's Day, please share your worst green beer story!

I have no idea what green beer is so will stick to the first one!

We have a few spoonerisms that we use in our house. (After last week's Fun Monday you must be wondering whether we ever use proper English!)

Chish and Fips (Fish and Chips) - Someone, and I think it was my Mother, came out with this backwards phrase many many years ago and it's just stuck

Distructions - We use this one instead of "instructions". It seems more appropriate somehow.

Fsh - as in "what do you call a fish with no eyes - Fsh" Yes, corny but it makes me giggle and it has also now become part of our regular vocabulary.

The next two came about after a very drunken evening with friends. We had been out for the day on one of said friend's boat on the River Thames. At some stage we came across a bevy of swans who were having a very bad day, resulting in a major swan punch-up. Fast forward to later that evening when much alcohol had been imbibed and I came out with "Those vons swighting!". Amid the hilarity that followed some bright spark, sticking to the German sounding theme, came out with "Herr Rons" for Herons. That evening went down in the annuls of history and both phrases remain with us to this day.

UPDATE: I forgot one! As I was just preparing dinner I remembered another one we use regularly - "indegrents" for ingredients. No idea where that one started!

Head over to Nikki's to find out what the other FMers have to say today!

Fun Monday #7

This week's Fun Monday is being hosted by Tiggerlane over at The Neophyte Blogger.

Here is the for assignment this week:

Have you heard of The Bucket List? Well, that's what I want from you! Make a list of things you want to do before you die. It must be at least five items - and you can make it as long as you desire. Photos are optional. And let's hear about some of the wackiest, most bizarre to-do's on your Bucket List!

So here's my list - which is very dependent on me winning the lottery.

1. Travel in space - Space and space travel has always fascinated me - which probably explains why I love reading Science Fiction/Fantasy and love watching Star Trek and any space-based movie (It may be a naff film but I could watch Independence Day over and over!). If commercial space flights ever become regularly available you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be on one!

2. Build my own house - I have wanted to have a house built to my specifications for as long as I can remember. I have, in my head, every single detail of how I want the house to look and I'm constantly refining it. It will have big spacious rooms and be in the middle of nowhere with stables for horses and kennels for the rescue dogs to get them out of danger. I have colour schemes worked out, I know what furniture I want and where it will go. It's all planned.

3. Take a trip in an hot air balloon - This is something I've only thought about doing recently. A friend of mine (Ali, who comments on here from time to time) recently did one and had an absolute blast.

4. Buy an Aston Martin DB9 - I wouldn't consider myself a snob in many respects. I don't place too much importance on what people think of me and how I look/what I do etc. However, one thing that seems to be important to me is having a decent car. I don't know why, it's not important on the grand scale of things but cars impress me. I can't help myself. I drive a pretty mediocre car at the moment that still as a dent in the side from where I bashed it 18 months ago so perhaps this particular foible of mine is fading. Nevertheless, one day I will own an Aston Martin DB9. That car is just sheer class on wheels.


5. Watch Wales play rugby at the Millenium stadium - It's hard to explain how it feels to be Welsh. There's a great deal of pride and something we call "hwyl"...which defies translation into English. It's about spirit and knowing your roots and where you belong. Many hundreds of years ago, the Welsh were subdued by sheer brute force by the English and brought under English rule rather than under their own rule. It still rankles. And when it comes to rugby, the English are still THE team we want to beat. It's as if the battle still rages but now it's moved to the rugby pitch. Welsh patriotism is at its highest when the Welsh rugby team takes to the pitch at their home stadium and I have yet to see them play there so that is a definite goal before I die.

Please visit Tiggerlane's blog to see the mammoth list of those participating this week!!

Fun Monday #6

Welcome to Fun Monday! 59 participants...anyone know what the record is!!?

For today's Fun Monday, continuing in the spirit of "being interested in people", I would like to know, or see, what's on, in or under your bedside table! So open those draws and bare your soul to us! Is there anything special there that has a story or a memory that you can tell us about? Books that you keep there to delve into from time to time? Trinkets that you don't know where else to put? Let's see!


Well, this is my bedside set of drawers.

The first thing you have to know is that there is very little furniture in our house that is new. We do like to recycle old furniture, although this is partially due to the fact that there was very little money about to buy new furniture when we first set up home together 13 years ago. But we both love old things and we still try to buy second-hand if we can. Himself found this cupboard in a skip! I loved it so he cleaned it up for me and it looks lovely. Inside the drawers are several scribbled four-digit numbers which I suspect are pin numbers for credit cards. If I ever found out who this belonged to I could have a field day with their credit cards, if I were so inclined.

So, moving in a bit closer, these three books are the series that I'm currently reading.


And these are the selection of books that I have either recently read and not put back on the bookshelves yet, or books that I dip into from time to time. We plan on giving a home to some ex-battery chickens in the next few months, hence the Living with Chickens book. You can probably also tell that I'm a big Terry Brooks fan!

Next to the books is some loose change, my alarm clock, an amethyst crystal bed and my crystal, a piece of Smoky Quartz. It is my grounding stone and the one that is never far away at times of stress. Smoky Quartz helps to set aside willfulness and headstrong behaviour and has the ability to transform negative energy, and is particularly effective in dealing with anger and resentment. It is a stone that helps you be here right now, in the moment.


In the top drawer lives a few more books that were stocking filler gifts for Christmas which I haven't read yet. Also in there is some hand cream, Hypercal skin cream - I swear by that stuff for spots and cuts. Its skin-healing properties are amazing. There's also a spare pair of glasses, some headphones and a few pieces of jewellery that haven't made it back into my jewellery box yet.


Next drawer down holds some Christmas editions of magazines that were supposed to help me me re-create a perfect Christmas. What a waste of money they were! You needed 36 hours in a day, lots of money and no hairy Lurchers to achieve what they suggested! Underneath those is my hot water bottle!


Bottom drawer...in here is my crystal box. Himself gave me this box as a birthday present a few years ago. He found it in a junk shop and he spent ages making it look beautiful and inlaid all that mother of pearl himself.


He even made the insert tray to go inside. This is a selection of my crystal collection. I don't use them as much as I used to to but they are there when I need them.


Hanging just above is my dream-catcher. I went through a phase of having some horrific nightmares and I really do believe this helps take the nightmares away.

Last but not least is Charlie. Charlie was a present from my grandparents when I was eight. He has been with me everywhere since, much to Himself's amusement, and he has even survived Lurcher No.2's predilection for de-stuffing anything fluffy.


So there you have it! Please visit all the other paricipants in this week's Fun Monday. You can find links to all of them in the sidebar to the right of this post!

Fun Monday #5 - The View from my Front Door

Vicki over at Catching Light is hosting this weeks anniversary Fun Monday...it's been a year since Vicki started the ball rolling!

It's also another anniversary today....my Birthday!

The very first Fun Monday was the view from your front door and so Vicki is re-creating that one for this week and this is the assignment: For those of you who did NOT post a picture of your view from your front door (that'll be me as I'm a Newbie!), then your assignment is to post a view from your front door. To do this you stand in your doorway looking outside and take a picture. That simple. We (I) want to see what you see when you look out your front door.

The view from my front door is not that inspiring at the moment. We moved into the cottage just about a year ago and there was so much to be done inside that the outside has pretty much been left to fend for itself. We wanted to go through a whole year and see what came up so we could decide what to with it all - hence why it looks a bit of a mess at the moment!

My front door is to the side of my house so it's only just over a metre or so to the gate (please excuse my compost buckets!):

To the right - there used to be a bank of soil right up to the gate but OH dug it all back and built the brick wall. In the summer that bed is a riot of herbs and it looks lovely! It also gives us a small area where we sit and have breakfast in the summer, away from the prying eyes of our nosey neighbour!


To the left is where I keep my bike, which I use to get back and for to work, and our boiler. The area to the right will either be paved over or we may plant some shade-loving plants there.



Outside the gate though is lovely! We live in the middle of Wimbledon Common and so we open the gate onto 460 hectares of land that is left natural. We have woodlands, grassland, ponds and all sorts of wild flora and fauna in the summer. It is heaven for The Lurchers! It's been grey and miserable all day but the sun just came out through the clouds so I ran out with my camera!


Head over to Catching Light to see everyone else's Fun Monday posts!

I am hosting Fun Monday on 28th January so watch this space for details! I've narrowed it down to two topics so am trying to choose one!

Fun Monday #4

Ann over at For The Long Run is hosting Fun Monday today and this is what she wants to hear.

I want to hear about a web site and not just about any old web site. I want to hear about a web site that's changed your life. A web site that you can't live without. A web site whose inventor you'd like to see win a McArthur Genius Grant. Maybe you want to sing the praises of a dating web site for helping you meet your spouse. Maybe the only thing getting you through the dark days of winter is an Internet comic. No story is too big, no story is too small - I want to hear it all on Monday.

There are two websites which have changed my life. Not in any ground-breaking, earth-shattering way, but quietly changed my life over the course of time, although the first did have something of a big bang effect not long after it entered my life.

The first, I am ashamed to admit, has been lost in the mists of my mind and I can't even remember what it was called. At the time I was riding a lot and so joined this equine website which had a forum. This was about 11 years ago and I was pretty new to the whole web thing then and didn't really have a clue about what I was doing. Alongside the forum was a chat room and quite a few people would meet up in there for a chat at lunch time. Four or five of us hit it off and friendships started to develop as we met online more regularly. We didn't know each other from Adam but we all had one thing in common, our love of horses.

I ventured into the chat room one day, hoping some of the girls would be around for a chat. Instead, there was only one person in there, a woman I'd never met before, and she was in a desperate state. He beloved horse had just died suddenly and she was completely bereft. So bereft that I was seriously concerned for her well-being. I kept her chatting whilst quickly e-mailing my friends to get online fast because I needed them in the chat room asap. We spent the next couple of hours helping Stardust deal with her grief and out of those few hours, fast friendships were formed.

A few of us lived reasonably close to each other and we started to meet up. First me and Ali, then Niki, then Sara and Caroline and Em. We met Lynn a couple of times as she lived further away and Caroline and Yvonne we have yet to meet as they live in Scotland. Although Stardust came over from her home in South Africa for a visit....what a heady few days they were!

For reasons I cannot remember, we were christened The Crazy Gang and the Gang still exists today although we don't see each other as often as we'd like we still have our own message board to keep in touch with each other. Niki and Ali remain my closest friends.....friends I can turn to whenever I need a shoulder. Even if we haven't spoken for months and months, we all know we are at the end of a phone for each other. This is the three of us at Himself's 50th birthday party last year (that's me on the right).


Our lives have diverged over the years but we've been with each other through birthdays, marriages, childbirth, health issues and death. We have had several mass gatherings, mainly at Em's house as she has lots of room, and it's great because all our partners enjoy each others company too and we have had some very fun times together. Long may it continue!








The second website that has had a major effect on my life is, of course, Greyhound Gap. I had crossed paths with Lisa from time to time around a couple of dog rescues websites but didn't really know her very well. Then one day I received an e-mail from Lisa saying she was setting up Greyhound Gap. I mooched about their forum for a while and then along came Lurcher No.2. He was one of Gap's first rescue dogs and I won't details the story of how he came to live with us because I've done that several times already in this blog. Tyler enriched our lives so much that I felt very strongly that I wanted to be able to give something back. The then treasurer was emigrating and having to give up the role and I offered to take over the role. Gap wasn't a very big organisation then and I remember thinking that surely it couldn't be that difficult to write a few cheques and keep basic records! But Gap has grown and grown. It has a vast number of fantastic supporters, without whom Gap could not function, and many of them have become close friends. Gap is now a registered charity and with anything between 50 and 60 dogs in our care, it takes up a fair amount of my spare time dealing with all the donations that we receive and paying anything between 20 and 30 vet bills every month! But I wouldn't give it up for the world. It has become it's own community with a lot of like-minded people always there for anyone who needs help and support, whether they have dog-related problems or personal ones. Like the Crazy Gang, Gap has also seen people through marriages, childbirth, health problems and death. It is a network of people who care and it has totally changed my life. Long may it continue too.

Don't forget to check out all the other Fun Monday blogs - there's a list over at For The Long Run.



This blog is posted in memory of Queen Bea, Lisa's much loved Greyhound, who went to the Bridge very suddenly yesterday afternoon. At only five years old, she was taken from Lisa much too soon. Forever in our thoughts.

Fun Monday #3

Lisa at Lisa's Chaos is our host for this week's Fun Monday. This is want Lisa wants to know about:

Let’s meet your pets. I think most of us have at least one pet and I would like to see your fluffy or scaly pal. If you don’t have a camera you can tell us about him/her/them. If you don’t have a pet tell us about a pet you had or a pet you want. If for some weird reason you hate all animals we want to know why gosh-dang-it.

Ooooh now are we on a subject close to my heart!! I could, and indeed did, write a very long blog about all the pets that I have had the good fortune to share my life with but it was so long that I would have lost you all before you reached the halfway mark so I have decided to focus on The Lurchers and save the rest for another blog. Suffice to say that, except for a few lean years when I was at college and getting my career off the ground (hah!), there have always been dogs in my life.

Lurcher No.1 came, surprisingly, first. Himself had always wanted a hairy grey lurcher. So we set about finding one. Except that the first lurcher pup we came across was Georgie. And once I'd set eyes on her there was no way we were going home without her. And she was not grey. Or hairy. She was smooth coated and black and white. Hey ho!

Day 1.

Georgie is my soul dog. She is such a character and there is no doubt in my mind that she has been here before...in human form. It almost seems like she gets so frustrated sometimes at not being able to say what she wants to say! She is a dream of a dog...so laid back that nothing fazes her for a minute. She likes to think she's top dog but really can't be bothered to enforce it so just kicks back and enjoys herself! She loves people and considers herself to be a real “meet and greet” dog, particularly if she comes to work with me when she has to say hello to everyone that walks through the door. She’s also a smiler, baring her teeth in an enthusiastic grin when she meets old human friends. She is much more a people dog than a dog dog, preferring the company of people over other dogs.

And now? And now she is hairy!

And then came Lurcher No.2. Tyler.

Day 1

Georgie might be my soul dog but Tyler is my heart dog. I love my dogs equally but Tyler has stolen that little centre of my heart. Georgie is so confident and sure and can look after herself whatever the situation but Tyler is much less confident and finds some situations stressful. He just pushes my “look after me” button!

Possibly my favourite photo of The Lurchers

Tyler is a rescue from Greyhound Gap and didn’t get the best start in life which I think affected his confidence and ability to interact with other dogs. But he is also goofy and funny and makes me giggle at some of his antics.

And now…

My dogs are my everything and their needs are put first above everything else in my life. I cannot put into words what they mean to me and how much I love them. There just are no words to express feelings that deep.

A lurcher, by the way, is a crossbred Sighthound. The cross will be between a Greyhound, Whippet, Deerhound or a Saluki AND a Terrier (usually a Bedlington or a Border) or a border Collie or a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Those are the traditional crosses but there aremany crosses these days that can be called "lurcher" but the undelying rule is that there must be a sighthound in there. Georgie, for example, is Greyhound x Saluki x Border Collie x Bearded Collie so she is quite thickset for a lurcher. Tyler, on the other hand, is a Greyhound x Deerhound with, we believe, some Border Collie and he is very much the classic sighthound build - long legs and deep chested.

Don’t forget to go over to Lisa’s Chaos and catch up with all the other Fun Monday blogs!

Fun Monday #2

I have to say that today is not starting out as a particularly Fun Monday. I had to rush to the emergency vet with Lurcher No.2 at 11.30pm last night for what I thought was an occurrence of colic. Not life threatening but he was in obvious pain and distress. The vet gave him a jab which seemed to ease things and he slept through as whatever they gave him also had a very mild sedative effect.

He's still not right this morning though and has some diarrhoea as well so I rang my normal vet and they asked to see him. Himself has just taken him down and, as he is still in some discomfort, the vet has decided to keep him in and x-ray just to rule out any blockage. So I am sitting here biting my nails until I hear more from the vet.

*Update: Lurcher No.2 is home and there is no blockage, just a possible gastric upset and lots of nasty gas in his stomach and colon. It all just has to work its way out of his system now and then he'll be a lot more comfortable.

However, I did start to put together my Fun Monday post yesterday evening so, although I'm not feeling particularly jovial, I can at least share these with you, even if there are not as many as I'd hoped to share.


This week's Fun Monday is hosted by Peter over at Holties House. As it's nearly the New Year, Peter wants us to end 2007 with a smile on our faces and wants to know our favourite jokes or cartoons.

I have heard some absolute howlers over the years but, unfortunately, my joke-retaining ability is way off the minus end of the scale and I can never remember them so here are a few that I do remember (or have written down) that absolutely make me chortle!



Silliest Joke. I've first heard this joke as a child and it still makes me giggle!

Why do elephants have big ears? Because Noddy won't pay the ransom.

Funniest Quotes. These are cheating slightly as they are not jokes but a friend sent me a list of quotes from examination papers and I always go and read it when I need to have a good belly laugh! This is just a few of the funniest:

What's a Hindu?
It lays eggs

Name the four seasons
Salt, mustard, pepper, vinegar

"Monotony means being married to the same person for all your life."

"What changes happen to your body as you age?
When you get old, so do your bowels and you get inter-continental"

"The body consists of three parts - the brainium, the borax and the abominable cavity. The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs, and the abominable cavity contains the bowels, of which there are five - a, e, i, o and u."

"What are steroids?
Things for keeping the carpet on the stairs"

"What is a common treatment for a badly bleeding nose?
Circumcision"

"For Fainting: Rub the person's chest or, if a lady, rub her arm above the hand instead. Or put the head between the knees of the nearest medical doctor."

Definitions:

BENIGN...What you will be after you be eight
CAESAREAN SECTION...A district in Rome
COMA...A punctuation mark - a bit like a full stop
SEMI-COLON...Partial removal of the intestines
VACUUM...Large empty space where the pope lives
ENEMA...Someone who is not your friend
MAGNET...Something you find crawling on a dead cat
FIBULA...A small lie
MORBID...When there is a bigger offer
GERMINATION...The process of becoming a German
NODE...When you have known somebody for a long time
SEIZURE...A Roman Emperor
FERTILISATION...The fusing of the male with the female garments
TERMINAL ILLNESS...When you are ill at the airport
TIBIA...A country in North Africa
VARICOSE...Nearby
VEIN...Conceited

Have a Happy New Year everyone and head over to Holties House to see all the other Fun Monday Participants' posts!

My first Fun Monday!

This week's Fun Monday is being hosted by kitten and here's what she wants from us -



I think it would be neat to hear about the story behind your home and the road you live on. It doesn't have to be historical, maybe just something that stands out to you. It would be nice to have pictures to go with your little story. I also would like to know who has the oldest house. Whoever has the oldest house will get a little Christmas treat from little ole me.

I was fortunate that a change in my role at work last year coincided with the availability of a staff cottage. This meant that just over a year ago I picked up the keys to my tied cottage. The place was a shambles quite frankly as, although someone had been living in it, the previous tenant refused to have anything done to it whilst he lived in it and so nothing had been done for over 30 years and it needed complete modernisation. Fortunately Himself is very well-qualified in the DIY business as it's what he does for a living so he did most of the work himself. We had to replace rotten floor joists, get central heating and new plumbing installed and generally bring the place back up to standard that was comfortable. it was great beig able to choose a new kitchen and bathroom...and have someone else pick up the bill!








We're not entirely clear about it's history. We know there has been a building on the site since at least 1871, when my current employers took charge of the land. We can also presume that the cottage had a thatched roof as it is called Thatched Cottage.




In the early 1890s, the cottage was leased to the Ladies of the Royal Wimbledon Golf Club for use as a clubhouse. The photograph below shows them standing in what is now part of my back garden. I'm not sure if you can make it out but behind the ladies to the right of the picture is a section of darker colored brick...that is now my lounge window and our garden fence runs from just to the right of that porch.















You can just see the side of the porch in this picture here



The Ladies used the property as a Clubhouse until 1932. Once they vacated, the property was split into two cottages for use by the staff working on the Commons. In the mid-70s, the internal layout of the two cottages changed again when the master bedroom of my cottage was incorporated into the adjoining cottage as the member of staff living there had two children and needed the extra room.

The Cottage is tiny but it is, in my opinion, in the best location on the Common. It's remote and quiet and, despite living within 7 miles of Central London, we could be in the middle of nowhere. We love it here and it really feels like home. The only down side is that, being a tied cottage, I can't stay here once I retire. But that's a way down the road yet!