Thursday 31 December 2009

A Little Tear...

Maybe it's the fact that another year is coming to an end, I don't know, but for the past few weeks all I have done is think about my Dad and how much I need a hug from him. :-(
Last night I found tears running down my face, for no reason, except that I was thinking of him.

In February it will be 10 years since I lost him, and it just seems like yesterday sometimes.

I'm thinking about you Dad, and love you as much now, as I always have.... x


Saturday 26 December 2009

A Horse, My Kingdom For A Horse!


After a muddy walk up the hillside, we arrived on the top of the Carn, and positioned ourselves, where we could see the horses and riders as they met, before their Boxing Day ride across the countryside.
Then it was a quick dash into the shadow of the castle so that we could avoid the sudden downpour of heavy rain.
As the clouds crossed over us and passed into he distance, Fred and Milo spotted each other and caught up on their doggy gossip...

Meanwhile the riders drank their warming drinks, and chatted amongst themselves, whilst the hounds came amongst the crowd for some welcome fuss.


We were amazed by how clear the skies had become, and realised that we could actually see further than we ever had before from this spot.

Once we had wandered back down to the village again, we drove back for a welcome cuppa and a nice bit of cake and cream.

A very civilised day indeed!


Friday 25 December 2009

Christmas Day 2009

After an early start, where we watched Fred play with his new 'bear' toy that he got from Hamish, and bury his jumbone from his Nanny in the fabric covers of the sofa, we headed on over to see Jannah Beth, Mel and Denise.
We had a lovely time over there, and managed to actually get JB to open a couple of presents - she is the only teenager I know who can limit herself to one gift opening per hour!
Then it was back home to collect Fred and head on over to Portreath for our usual Christmas Day stroll on the beach.
He and Hamish had a grand time, and even met a little miniature Schnauzer named Milo, who was only 15 weeks old. They all made friends instantly.
They were also the only ones with tinsel on their collars.... amazing, last year all the dogs on the beach were wearing something Christmassy



It was a beautiful day, and certainly much warmer than last year.
It was then home and a little snoozette on the sofa before cooking the turkey dinner for our evening meal.
YUM!


Thursday 24 December 2009

Christmas Eve...

It started out as quite a strange Christmas Eve.
I got into work for 7am, an hour earlier than normal, so that I could help Alison to clear the wages admin, and ensure that payroll went through on time. As it turns out, there was no need as she had arrived about 15 minutes before me, and was well into clearing it all.
It was then a really bitty morning, with typing up various reports and getting as many cups of tea down us as possible!
I arrived home only about 5 minutes before Paul, who suggested we pop over to the Hospital to visit his Dad, who we had heard had been taken in the previous evening.
We had an hour over there with him, and met up with Dee and Jannah just as we left, who promised to let us know what was going on, as he may have to stay in until Boxing Day.
Then it was off home to cook dinner, as we had Sally-Ann, Mike and Hamish coming over.
The dogs were angels, despite my Fred wanting to go out every 5 minutes!

Hamish enjoyed some love off of him Mom, whilst poor Mike looked on, in the dim and little light that he could cope with behind his shades.

We had a lovely evening, and enjoyed some big laughs watching Victoria Wood's Christmas Show, and revelling in the iconic song that we all remembered from her 90's show.

Then it was time for Paul to drive them back home, and as he picked his phone up, he noticed a text from Jannah..... Their Dad was home, as the doctors had managed to get all the introvenus antibiotics in that they wanted to.

At least he could enjoy his Christmas Day in his own home.

Tuesday 22 December 2009

Afternoon Beach Romp

The weather was so good today, that I called Sally-Ann to see if they fancied a walk on the beach after I finished work.

The dogs got very excited to see each other again, and went racing off, following each other, where one sniffed , so did the other, where one pee'd so did the other (yep you heard correctly LOL)



We stopped at the end of the beach, by our rock and took some pictures of our glorious afternoon

and then proceeded to follow the boys back, all the time gossiping away like mad, to catch up on the last few weeks worth of stories!



A lovely afternoon, of gossip and exercise!


Monday 21 December 2009

Saturday 19 December 2009

Strictly Come Dancing 2009

The best season so far, and it's gotta be said that tonight's final was a very tight run thing..... Did I enjoy it? Did I ever!


I stood and cheered as Chris and Ola were crowned the SCD Winners for 2009. Their Charleston was THE dance the season, if not of all 7 seasons! If you don't believe me, see for yourself - you can watch it here

Well done Team Cola

Friday 18 December 2009

Sharon's Christmas Cake Recipe

I just received this recipe from my friend, and it sounded so scrummy, I thought I'd share....
Christmas Cake recipe!!
Ingredients:
* 2 cups flour
* 1 stick butter
* 1 cup of water
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1 cup of sugar
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 cup of brown sugar
* Lemon juice
* 4 large eggs
* Nuts
* 2 bottles of wine
* 2 cups of dried fruit
Sample the wine to check quality.
Take a large bowl, check the wine again.
To be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.
Repeat.
Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar.
Beat again.
At this point it's best to make sure the wine is still OK. Try another cup... Just in case.
Turn off the mixerer thingy.
Break 2 eggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
Pick the frigging fruit up off floor.
Mix on the turner.
If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver.
Sample the wine to check for tonsisticity.
Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something.
Check the wine. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.. Add one table.
Add a spoon of sugar, or some fink. Whatever you can find.
Greash the oven.
Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over.
Don't forget to beat off the turner.
Finally, throw the bowl through the window.
Finish the wine and wipe counter with the cat.
Go to Tesco and buy cake.
Bingle Jells!

Tis the season to feel rubbish!.....

Sorry for the big blank pause bloggers, but I have been, and still am, full of a really nasty cold (does a womens cold translate to flu in man speak) since Tuesday, and finally gave up whilst at work on Wednesday, and came home to bed, which is where I am posting this from in between the wretching over the conveniently placed bin!

Needless to say I will have to go back a few days to tell you about our works Christmas Party on Saturday evening, as my brain has been so full of nasty things that I have not been able to think straight to be able to show what a great time we had.

So sit back and scroll down, for the party photo's and story. x

Saturday 12 December 2009

Penmere Perfection...

Although I've not mentioned any details on my blog up until now, I have been working diligently behind the scenes since the beginning of September, to organise a Christmas Dinner Dance party night for my favourite work friends and I.
I am a huge fan of Christmas and can't get enough of the whole love, joy and being with friends at this time of year. Unfortunately the meaning of Christmas seems to have got more and more diluted over the years, and even since I was a child things have become more and more commercial.

Christmas to me in 2009 is being able to spend some time with my favourite people, and not necessarily the giving of gifts.... that's not to say that I have not been out and bought gifts, so don't panic too much dearies, but to know that I can get a hug of a BFF is more than enough for me.

Anyway, I digress. The Christmas Party Night.... In the past we have just booked a meal at the local carvery and turned up 15 minutes before, chomped down the chow, and headed off home after an hour and half.

This year I had plans for glitter, dancing and being able to spend time with aforementioned BFF's.

We did the whole Yell.com search for decent hotels within a 20 to 30 minute drive of all of our homes, and I contacted them for details of party nights if any, and the menu's they were offering.

We narrowed it down to 3 hotels, and then, finally, down to the Penmere Manor in Falmouth. The girls on their reception were so very helpful, and offered details for any questions, swiftly and concisely by return email. So this was the hotel we booked.

Having arranged the Burns Night for the 5 owners club back in January, I had a fair idea as to how to make things easier, both for the hotel and myself.

I generated food order forms for each person, so that I could advise the hotel of the orders in advance, as they had requested, and having made everyone part with their deposit, I headed over to the hotel one afternoon, to pay up and give them the menu choices.

As the hotel was offering a very very reduced bedroom rate for anyone attending a party night, I had promised to check one out and report back. OMG the hotel, bedroom and event room was gorgeous. An old 18th century manor house, with a gym, sauna, jacuzzi, indoor and outdoor swimming pool, and all situated in beautiful beautiful grounds.

Needless to say I booked a room for Liza, who had asked me to keep it quiet from her other half, and also for us. We originally were not going to stop, as we have had an awful lot of expenditure recently and this would just be an indulgence, but hey, I could not turn this opportunity down. It was a chance for Fred to stop in a posh hotel for only £8..... I could not possibly deny my poor little doggy this could I, LOL.

I knew that having ordered their meals so far in advance, that no-one would remember what they wanted, and so, I made little name cards for the table, and inside I inserted a label with their menu choice, therefore alleviating the need for my big red folder containing all of my information and co-ordination details.

The next question was how was I to do this. Give them the place card on arrival and let it be every man for himself to the table, or place them ready on the table so that all they had to do was arrive and sit.

One afternoon, in the office, it was decided that we would pull names from a hat to decide where to place people. I started with Alison and her husband David in the middle of the table and worked out from them. I wanted to ensure that they had a good spot, as Alison has had a pretty grot year with recovering from all of her chemo etc.

Finally, we arrived at a seating plan, with partners opposite each other, and now all that was needed was to panic that the meal and hotel would meet expectations.... I have to say I was pretty stressed over it all, as this was out of my hands and I could do no more to make it a great night for us.

Out of 16 people attending our little gathering, 10 of us were stopping at the hotel for the night, and I felt very responsible for the fact that they had all spent a lot of money, and I just wanted it to go well.

I needn't have panicked. Everyone arrived at the allotted time, and we had a few drinks in the bar, while I took each couple off to one of the lovely side rooms for a special photo to commemorate the evening. Bless them all for agreeing to this. They know that I am a camera maniac, and they also know that it will all end up on here, but what good sports they all were!










Then I had a huge SHOCK!

I turned around and Alison was stood there with the most beautiful, and huge bouquet of flowers, and they were for me! WHY? Because I had done all of the organising of the evening they said, and they wanted to show their appreciation! How I did not cry on the spot I'll never know.... talk about unexpected!

Not long after this shocker, we headed off to our table, which I managed to snap before we destroyed it



After the most divine meal ever, the dance floor seemed far too empty, so we helped out a little, as you do!


A thoroughly enjoyable evening was had by all, and the following Monday, as they all started to arrive at work, it was all we could talk about.

We emailed Sally at the Hotel to say what a fab time we had had, and then booked again for December 2010.

A wonderful evening - What was I worrying about? LOL!

Monday 7 December 2009

Paul's Pain

Paul was still in immense pain this morning when we awoke, so I told him that I would be calling Nigel to book him in for some realignment.

Nigel is the Osteopath that comes to our work to ensure that people are kept fit and not having to take un-necessary time off with pain that could be prevented if treated immediately.

He has been qualified for 30 years and really knows his stuff. I know, as he has treated my back on a number of occasions, and always reduces the pain to zero in one visit, despite it being a chronic problem that I have had for a number of years.

We drove down to St Ives for a 6.30 appointment, and Nigel welcomed us with open arms.

He took some medical histories from Paul who explained that this was an injury that had happened about 6 years ago, but had reared it's head after doing some heavy lifting at work recently.

He then did some basic tests - reflex, cardiac, blood pressure (which was a little high), and a few other things to give him an idea if everything was as it should be.

Then the hard work began. Nigel began to manipulate, pull and push various part of Paul's back, arms, legs and buttocks, with a few ow's coming from Paul's mouth and a few 'Was that you? LOL' comments from Nigel.

Finally, he pronounces that the results were the best they could be for the severity of his injury, but that he will be sore tomorrow.

We booked him in for next Monday for, hopefully, a final realignment, and paid Nigel the reduced price that he had given us as a friends and family discount.

Paul was amazed, as he already felt loads better.

Of course, all I could say was - "I told you so"

Nigel has wonderful hands!

Sunday 6 December 2009

Battling the Beacon

OK - so today's title is a little dramatic, but hey - those winds were gale force, and we really did have to battle against them to get to the top of St Agnes Beacon!

Once we started on up the hillside, we realised that, not one of us was as fit as we should be! Sally-Ann has a bad back, my hip is still very painful, Mikes eyes are very sore and hidden behind sunglasses still, and Paul damaged his back at work, so I need to book him in with the wonderful Nigel and his Magic Hands.... (that's the osteopath from work for those of you who are new to my blog!)

the walk up the hillside was well worth it for the views we were getting

and once at the top Fred stopped to admire were we had come from, despite the wind flattening his hair to his head, bless him!

Paul and Mike braved standing still long enough for a picture

then it was time to head back down, this time on the other side of the hill, so were were actually able to breath for a while against the wind, which had taken out breath from us on the way up
The four boys went on ahead, whilst Sally-Ann and I took a few long shots of the distant rainbow, that you can just make out to the off centre right of the below picture

We had a lovely walk that really blew the cobwebs away, and even better, the heavens didn't open til we got back to the car!