I don't have the words but she did.....

'How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of Being and ideal Grace. I love thee to the level of everyday's Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. I love thee with a passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.'             Elizabeth Barret Browning. I told you I didn't have the words to describe my feelings but that was not true. These may not be my words but I know them by heart and I have always loved this poem. So here they are, and I challenge you to come up with something better!!! You can try and catch me out with word-play but I will win!!!  Sue xxx

Good to know!

.............one of our clients told me today that he was very happy to have met me and have me in his life as he felt he had been 'touched by an angel'. My day was suddenly brighter.
Sue xx

Shame

Just love the humour in this video and the song holds a great deal of meaning in my life so I do like it a lot!!!
And listening to the words and knowing something about regret myself, and how not speaking out for oneself or being honest about one's emotions, can change a whole lifetime in one single letter. I wrote so many that never got posted, stood by letterboxes all over the place with them in my hand never daring to let them go until one day I did.........and it was too late. So remember, there is no turning back the time, there is only the future, and it is still to be written, so there are endless possibilities and a whole world full of experiences just waiting to happen. The choices are there to be made, the lessons already learnt and the bitter experience of what happens when we ignore our true destiny should only act as a catalyst for everything we do from here on in. An ordinary life............what is that anyway? It reminds me of the poem I love so much, and that there are extraordinary moments in every life when spirits collide and we find ourself in someone else's eyes. The trick is never letting go again, no matter what.
Sue xx

I've moved again!

Only the computer really and that is not yet in the right place but it is out of our bedroom and that is already an improvement! Tim kept his promise to help build the large cupboard  for me this morning. If smashing things helps my daughter then cursing seems to help Tim!! We have got two of the cupboards built now and in place, but they need to be fixed to one another for more security and he wasn't sure what to use for that....leaving it for you! If we only put two parts in my snug there is room for my desk which is important, and I cannot add that yet as it has no legs!!! Once the walls are covered in pictures and shelves etc I will try not to focus on their colour too much; it didn't make sense to worry about it now I agree, but it needs a little touch of 'me' before it feels like my space here. And my large light needs hanging as otherwise it is Dilbert's cubicle for me if I want to sit here at night!!! I  can say progress has been made and that was todays objective after all............so now I am going to think about other things including dinner!
Have you seen that Finding Neverland is on this afternoon on BBC1?!! And follows South Pacific?! Wow, what is this with the autumn kick-off; great films and series all starting - heavenly! I adore Finding Neverland and can never watch it without shedding tears so I hope Ann will ignore any teary-eyedness on my part when she comes to share our Sunday Roast! Hopefully it will not make the gravy too thin eh?!!
I have actually sat down and gone through all my administration this morning which for me is quite something! I am not a lover of paperwork and was spurred on by my own good intention to be up to date for moving into my snuggery today. Hang the ironing!! I got a letter from the electricity company yesterday  claiming I have not sent in my meter reading when we moved, but I know absolutely that I did, so I have checked it all again and yes, I am right and they have lost it in the post! So something I have to deal with tomorrow. And Tim starts college in one more week so it was useful to gather all his papers together in his file so we know where everything is before the day arrives........just his bike he needs to see to this week.
Well, I could ramble on for ever but I have to do some picture hanging now! These walls are just too bear for my taste and I can easily pretty the room up with the ones I know are in a box in the living room. Still hunting for the rest sadly - a box too far I fear. Oh, by the way, the hole in the wall from the bedroom to here is too small and needs to be made bigger so that the wires can pass through - we have got them going round the doors again!!! A temporary inconvenience m'dear.
Okay, really going now..........hey, did you see the video of the song SHAME by Robbie and Gary? Great humour guys!!!
Sue xx

Jealousy

I do not have a tendency towards jealousy, however.....just reading Inekes's blog sends me into all kinds of frenzies just listening to her talking about scarts and cables and technicalities to do with televisions and internet and dvd players.........and then hearing that she knows how to do all this herself!!!!! I have no idea what she is talking about half of the time but I do recognise a talent for leads and plugs and wires and connections that I simply am never going to possess myself. Petje af Ineke!!!!! My mind gets blown just by the mere mention of anything with a plug on it!!!
Sue xx

Take a deep breath Suzanne!!!

.......and tighten the old seatbelt, it's going to get a little bumpy!!
Phew, life is sometimes harder than we would like it to be, and right now I am struggling with a couple of things that have happened that just manage to take the edge off my  feeling of independence. So September is going to have to be a slow kind of month with nothing going on outside the essentials and then some of the things I had hoped to do will just be put on the back burner for another time and I have to get used to that idea - fast!
Isn't it frustrating when you worry about something and then find out the answer is so simple if you only knew where to look? I noticed my car had a light that was not working today and it is illegal to ride around without it working so I checked into Kwikfit after work and asked them to replace it for me. It turned out that there was just a loose wire and nothing wrong with my bulb at all! So no cost madam. I also got some screen clean thrown in after I booked the car in for a service which it desperately needs as I can hear the poor dear struggling every time I get into her. And having done that I realised that my intended day in Den Haag would not be possible after all, despite it being the start of my course and interesting to attend. It is swings and roundabouts time folks!!! Robbing Peter to pay Paul and all those old sayings........but I need to just accept that this is the way it is from now on, and deal with it. It will all serve to make me a better person in the end and on a scale of life-threatening situations I don't qualify for sympathy at all, so making all things relative, I cannot complain. Isn't this the reason I needed to read my book " Buddism for sheep"?!!!!
Creative thinking - that is my plan for the weekend; how to make what I have work for me. May require a little bit of tweaking but I know that if I put my mind to it, I can turn items I already own into ones that I can use here for other purposes. Think kitchen. I need more room for my small items such as the spices etc. and years and years ago I bought two small MDF ( yes, that long ago! ) fake pine wall cupboards that have served various purposes over the years. My idea is to paint them with left over paint in the shed, and then use them for the spices etc instead of buying anything else. They may not be beautiful or anyone else's idea of storage but I have them sitting up in the attic and that is a shame. And I have decided to sell my new and unused keyboard which breaks my heart but cannot be avoided my dears. I am sure that there is someone out there who would love to buy it from me with all its accessories etc so we are destined to part. It was my 50th birthday present and I started lessons but I cannot continue with them so it makes no sense to hang on to it for sentimental reasons. I am reconciled to its loss so I am not suffering...........................
right! My tummy is rumbling and I fancy something to eat! And then a quiet TV evening to end a busy week, and prepare me for another full one next week as well. The weather doesn't promise much for the weekend so 'chores indoors always score'!
Sue xx

At peace with myself again.

Through wind and rain.........and a very busy A7!!! But I beat you to it by say 1 minute............and it was worth every second thereafter!!
What a terrible day for weather - not just for ducks but I think walruses would have found it challenging as well!! No-one went out from work to do the shopping or anything else for that matter and it was a question of using up what we had for the day, hoping that tomorrow will be finer and dryer.
Phew, the oven is finally connected and Tim and I had oven- ready food for our dinner, yea! I was home later than usual so it was great that it was quick and easy as he was hungry. Still had to clean up first though, as the electrician had made a lot of dust etc. And our neighbours are still insisting on having their bonfires and the smoke gets into the back of my throat and I feel my lungs seizing which I can tell you is most unpleasant!! Not great for an asthmatic, right?! So right now I am struggling with my breathing and have decided to come upstairs and do some blogging before I settle down for the night. I am hoping for a better one than yesterdays as I was awake at 3am this morning and only fell into a deep dream state between 4 and 5.30am........so I was tired all day.
I am reading one of my course books, by Julie Starr, which I think is good. Easy to follow and with enough advice to have me asking for support, feedback and practice, as I really do acknowledge my own limitations ( some, but you will point out the rest, agreed?) and have an inkling where I might have difficulty changing habits of a lifetime!! But I'm not bossy, right, or manipulative in an unpleasant way, or dedicated to getting my own way on matters of vision and interior design?!!!! I can take other ideas into consideration and am willing to mull them over and try them out before making a decision......the point being learning to do this collaboratively of course!! I see the point and will adapt.( I suppose I am secretly enjoying this)! All in the name of self-enlightenment, coach!!!
This weekend I am going to start in the snuggery - or my study/hobby room as it is going to metamorphose into eventually. I will stand in there and mull; step one. Then I will recall what we talked about; step two. Then I will clear away what we don't need at the moment and write a list of what we actually need to have in there, what we already have and what I can do to improve the look of it on the cheap!!  Hey presto, by the end of the next two weeks I hope it will be all sorted and done. The introduction day to my course is 11 September so that is my first deadline, and after that it is all systems go for the old grey matter! Have I got the stamina to study again after all these years? What am I hoping to gain from putting myself out there and testing my ability to learn more and do something with what  I do discover? All those years of reflective practice were obviously going to come in handy, and that day has arrived my friend. I know all about journals and reflection and how to think like Leonardo......bet that is one book you have not read? Or maybe you don't need to...........digging out and dusting off the covers of all my old management books and psychology tomes is good therapy for me. A pig in clover as someone would say, but a pig in paint is my first port of call this weekend!
'we are such stuff as dreams are made of".........what a beautiful way to say goodnight.
Sue xx

is it just me or are you also thinking about..........

Christmas?!!!! I know its crazy but I am having thoughts about Christmas already and at work it seems I am not the only one; our senior was also getting the vibes! But then again he has an English brother-in-law so he is used to going for the traditional dinner with all the trimmings etc. and being part of our celebrations. Really it is just that I love to plan and think; think and plan, and my wish list on Amazon is growing longer and longer by the week! Mostly it consists of really ancient old films that I used to adore watching with my father after Sunday lunch, when my mother was asleep and my sister doing something else. I was banned from all Lassie films though - that was the absolute top forbidden film for me as my father couldn't cope with the sobbing. I still remember him collecting me and a friend from the cinema having been to see 'Love Story"; I think it was the very last time he ever agreed to do that!!! But they were all such wonderful classics and I am tempted to ask for some of them this year just so I can sit and sob all over again! Not that I have a DVD player - minor issue - I just enjoy thinking about the films and what I remember of them, the highlights, for example in Love is a Many Splendored Thing with William Holden I can recall a scene with a tree on a hill and then the song gets played..........magical! Becci and I could spend days watching these old movies together and never move from the settee. She bought me 'The Inn of the Sixth Happiness" the other year which I am convinced has been cut as there are scenes I remember from years ago that are no longer included which is a shame cos they miss the point about her relationship with the Mandarin. One film NOT on my list is the one about the seal that has not name that can be mentioned here as that would tempt someone to buy it for me and reduce me to a total wreck and which I loved and hated at the same time!! It probably would have been up there on the banned list along with Lassie and all other films about animals that I simply cannot bear to watch!
So back to Christmas!!!
Sue xx

This is for Becci!!

My daughter is a huge Bob Dylan and Billy Joel fan so this performance combines both her loves in one go! Bob Dylan wrote this song and asked Billy to cover it and it sort of has that Dylan feel to it in his version rather more than the one done by Adele. Still a great song with great lyrics and style.
What a lot of rain and thunder last night!!! I didn't sleep well at all and was wide awake at 5am this morning, just lying in bed thinking to myself.

This weekend it is Kermis in Lutjebroek and it is celebrated fanatically here I am told. I am hoping we live far enough away from the main areas to avoid it all, but the road gets cut off by the church and getting in and out of here has to be the short-cut route along the edge of the park. I use it all the time to get in and out but anyone visiting us for the first time wouldn't know about it, so I have to remember to mention it to people.
It really looks autumnal outside and the temperature has dropped suddenly and I am thinking about where oh where my winter clothes might be!! I was searching around in the attic yesterday because it is really bugging me that I cannot find some items that I want to get out and hung up etc. Where are my nick-knacks?!!! And getting my cupboard up is the next priority because I start my course soon and need access and space to my study materials.......my practical brain is alive and well this morning!!!
Tim and I are planning a great meal this weekend to get the oven working to the max!! He said he wants to have his favourite pudding which is Queen of Puddings, so that is easy enough to make, and I want to take some nice cookies into work on Friday for my last day with the clients at one of the centres I've been almost full-time at this summer. So time for breakfast and baking books! I know there is a huge box up in the attic with all our baking essentials etc so that is what I am going to do this morning; find it!!!
Sue xx

...and we have an up-side!!!

The day was not going well, but my stress has been lifted slightly by finally getting an electrician to come and give me a price for the oven; and it was not as horrific as I was imagining. Bad enough but doable and he is coming Thursday to do it, yippee!!! And I have asked him to move the light switch in the living room at the same time as he might as well whilst he is busy in the meter cupboard, right? I used my head on this one and went to talk to someone about the oven situation cos I reckoned he might know someone who was familiar with the Boretti's etc and he has his own little odd-job company and can do a lot of other things too!!! So I have asked about wall-papering etc and more excitingly about my bookcase as he makes furniture too!!! And I am so happy it makes the thought of going to work less of a hardship after all, ha!ha! I must tell Ann about him as he was very nice and she might like to have his address too......we girls have to stick together when it comes to DIY problems. Anyway, after Thursday Tim and I can eat proper meals and bake as well.......what a relief it is. Phew! And even though I will have to wait and save up for the rest at least I now know someone who can come when I am in a position to think about it all.
Maybe I can eat something now; I wasn't feeling in the mood early on but I fancy a proper coffee and then a walk round to the shop for the stuff I forgot to get earlier. And so the day passes.
Sue xx

last day.......

So here we are at the end of an incredibly long two weeks that really felt more like two months or even two years some times and I am in danger of not sleeping at all tonight! So I have stayed up longer than normal in order to fall asleep faster but our neighbours are still wide awake and making a lot of noise so I think there is still some quality time ahead with my earphones before I am ready to just nod off. The wind and rain are continuing as well so all in all it is looking like a long night.
(I don't know what to say; well, not strictly true as there are many many words - over 5,000 of them - waiting for you!! But they are just my incredibly mundane and ordinary and not very well thought-out ones, that kinda ramble on in no particular order or line of reason so I really don't think anyone would want to read them apart from you)!
So let me tell you that Becci had a cool day at her new job and when she rang she was really happy with everything and looking forward to all that lies ahead for her. It sounds exciting and different  and in her own hands as to what she makes of it which I know is something both she and I need from a job. We like the unknown and the 'no-ones done this before' part of jobs and the challenge of making our mark and I have every confidence in her. Watch this space as she gets into it and finds her own niche in the small team she has become a new member of today.
Still two weeks before Tim starts college so tomorrow morning we need to run errands and pick up books and try on his cooks gear etc at the shop and think about what he needs before I have to face another full week of work next week. I am not complaining about it but I really could use some time out and I do feel the need for a break..........but it is only two days right now and I want to make the most of them!!!!
Ok, I cannot stall any longer, time for bed. There is a huge ? hanging over me about the morning so I am hoping all is well and.................
sue xx

Independence

I have an independent streak in me that makes it hard for me to feel beholden to someone else, but at the same time it is necessary to know when help is required; so I am combining the two things by buying my own tool and hoping for advice as to how to do the job!! I thought Tim might be confident enough to tackle it but he has worked for 10 hours today so I do agree he probably just wants to grab a beer and turn his computer on and do nothing that requires effort for a while! It was a long day for him but it will be extra pay so that is the upside. So I do have to wait a little longer than I would like, but at least we now have another tool in the kit for future DIY projects!!
Made two puddings for tomorrow as I was busy anyway and it was nice to try something different for a change. Just the mushrooms to do next as they need to marinate overnight - I do enjoy having a dinner party!!! I have cleaned the house from top to bottom even  the windows which I hate doing but couldn't be avoided...and weeding and planting some new plants out front and in the back garden. There are so many weeds still to get rid off but at least I have made a start and if the weather permits in the morning   I will do some more. Just need to water the plants now as it hasn't rained all day despite a sky that promised a good down-pour........so that is next on my agenda!!
Sue xx

Seek and ye shall find!

ok, so I may not be a photo mosaic master but I can persevere and find the song that has been on my mind and niggling away until I found it! Love this video.....
sue xx

Tired and grumpy

Today I was both, but that is because I am not well and then it is so hard to work with yourself getting in the way, let alone the clients we have, and today I was alone at the centre so it was not the easiest of days! I was really glad when it was over and that my friend had invited me for dinner so I could just go there when I was finished, collapse in a chair and be looked after; wonderful! And Tim had tidied the shed and put the cupboard up in there etc and  I was very happy about that just now when  I got home. There was an element of self-interest it seems as his friend was here and they had obviously tried out the new fryer....but ok, I don't blame them and as all the washing up was done by the time they heard my key in the front door...good lads!
I am having my first lunch here on Sunday - yea!! Going to spend some time tomorrow going through the cookery books to find something special that only requires the gas hob and nothing that has to go in the oven!!! I like a challenge! I decided I wanted to do something this weekend that I enjoy, and cooking for friends is one of my favourite things to do. I suppose it is also to do with accepting this house as our home and all that this means to us...............so Saturday is shopping day, and finding things in the attic day and all that sort of thing. I spent the whole of today thinking it was Friday - or was that wishful thinking on my part ( probably), so I am a little confused too ( temperature  raised I guess).....blah, blah. Hope it all goes away before the weekend.
Well, I was looking for something else to play on the blog for you, but you know how it is when you think you know a song that fits the moment and you have a good idea who sang it, but you can't remember the title to look it up on youtube?..................so far I have got to Rod Stewart but not the song!!! I know it has to do with 'coming home'!!!!!
Sue xx

thought for the day

.....and this is one I truly agree with:

"There are only two ways to live your life.

One is as though nothing is a miracle.

The other is as if everything is."

{ albert einstein }

Happy birthday Finka!!!

Here are some photos I found quickly this morning from the last 8 months. The one of her with another cat in a basket is the one we saw on the internet when we were looking for a kitten, so this is her first photo. Then the other ones are with Genghis, obviously enjoying the lovely cushion he provides for her!! I cannot upload a recent one of her at the moment cos I am not connected to my printer etc but she is lovely; very dark fur now, and a much darker brown face with ears that no longer remind us of a bat!!! And at the moment she is lying quietly on our bed in between the pillows in the dip that forms there. Anyway, I am thinking about Xander as well today, as it is also his birthday, and he was such a wonderful personality........we miss him such a lot.
Sue xx

Last full week

Boy, it has been a long month of working, but d'you know, I am going to miss the clients when I stop seeing them so regularly - aah! It feels quite sad telling them that after Thursday I don't know when I will work with them again, and they seem to feel the same way about me.
As the famous lines go;- "I've grown accustomed to her face." ( Becci, you know who said them about whom, right?!) Oh, ok, then, Professor Higgins about Eliza Doolittle. And who played Eliza, Becci?!!!! :-)

Tomorrow would have been Xander's 9th birthday and will be Finka's first one. We are treating her to a new bowl that stays in one place when she eats and doesn't disappear under the table!!! She will be feted and kissed and cuddled and all that she usually gets from us, as well as being allowed to snuggle under the rug on the settee that she is not meant to do, but has a habit of wanting to now she has discovered it is possible! She has also taken to lying directly on top of poor Genghis, at right angles to him, and then falling asleep!!! Strange cat, I swear she has the spirit of Xander in her! She has certainly got a lot of his peculiar habits........

Today it has been very humid and warm though with a rainy looking sky the whole day. Sort of overshadowed and overcast but no rain. I am not feeling very well today - so have just taken paracetamol in order to gather up enough strength to do a little weeding in the front garden - it is growing fast out there! I want to put some effort into it in the autumn so that it gets under better control,  but for now it is just a matter of keeping it reasonable looking.
I think I need to rescue Genghis too as Finka is attacking him on the bed and his ears are flattened so there will be trouble otherwise!!!
Sue xx

Look into my crystal ball...

Just had my skype date and Pete said that he couldn't see me at first, so I said " I am in Dilbert's cubicle and the light is not very bright'....then all he could see were my luminous hands waving around so I had the bright idea of getting my little round bedside lamp and putting it here in front of the computer, hence me then saying ' gaze into my crystal ball'!!! Actually I think I might leave it here temporarily as it is giving off quite a handy glow and makes it feel more cosy and un-dilbert-like. Just thought I would share that with you!!
Sue xx

Happy girl

Yes! Yes! Hurray! Yey!

I've got a date!!!

Ok, so it is on skype and with my friend Pete, but then again that's nice too, right?! So until then I am free, so what have I done? The red blinds look super, even though I say it myself. Cutting the larger one down to size was not easy peasy but it went fine and the cut was good. Tim hacked the end off the rod with our unusual hacksaw; you know, the one we bought together? Seems as though it is impossible to turn the blade around to use it properly, so Tim did it upside down instead!! Worked, so what the heck? And I have been thinking about an old rug to go in the space between the dining table and the living area...not new, that's for sure, but an old moth eaten one, second or fourth-hand or even more...............I will know it when I see it I am certain of that!! Do you need me to measure the space or can I just guess?! :-)
I went to the shops this afternoon and moved a lot of boxes around in the attic.....hmm....nothing special, just a casual pyjama day in the end. I think Sundays are great for just pottering about when you know no-one is coming round or that you have to been somewhere else or do something, so I have enjoyed it. The wind was quite hard so lots of blowing about in the garden otherwise I would have done some weeding but it just wasn't quite nice enough for that. So, now I am going to have a well- earned coffee and some Galaxy ( well, you are still away so chocolate is all I have!!!) and wait for my date to call.
Sue xx

busy Sunday

And I thought this was my day off!! So far:- epic email to friend; washed 3 loads and ironed all of last weeks; carried out my dream from last night that the old pink chest in the shed would fit perfectly in the kitchen if I carried it in this morning so that I can get all the baking and cooking items unpacked and stored; found the coffee machine for Real Coffee again!!! ( but where are the filters?..); continued sorting out the kitchen and downstairs and now it is 11am and time for a break. And probably a digestive biscuit as well!!
And Phil Collins on the ipod so here is a little favourite of mine for you as well.
Oh, and in the midst of all this, yes, I have to agree that size matters and 55cm is more than enough!!! You were right again and I am not unhappy to admit it, but I just needed to prove it to myself first. There is room for me and the ironing board at 55 that would not exist at 60. So that's that!!!
Sue xx

Nice day out

I spent today in Amersfoort with my good friend Hillie. Easy train journey from here so no sweat - it all went very smoothly! It was around 25C all day so very hot in the city but it is a pretty place and we walked around the old town, had a spot of lunch ( though not to be recommended for future visits), hummed and ahed over some cardigans and treated ourselves to a scarf each..............better than it sounds!! It was terribly warm at times so we did sit and contemplate our navels a couple of times near the market but by 5 oclock we had had enough so headed back towards the station. I was home just after 7pm so not too bad.
This week is dragging by very slowly - I cannot believe it is not even one week!!!! Another 9 days to go!!!
Sue xx

Thought of the day....

"We love the things we love for what they are."

{ robert frost }

Where is a man when you need one?!

Grr...it just doesn't come naturally to me to wait for things I have got in my head that need doing instantly! And it is not really our fault, it is just that we are not yet handy enough to be independent of a man. Grr!!!

I bought some blinds for our kitchen 'cos Karwei had got a stickers week so I could get a good discount etc. Tim started with the smallest one - but then he couldn't work out how to get the screws into the window surround and I didn't want to risk a mistake. So, everything back in the box until someone comes along who DOES know what he is doing!! And I bought the perfect hanging thingy for my what-nots in the kitchen..........Tim tried to screw into the wall and all the plaster fell out!! Obviously we were not doing the right thing; but what IS the right thing to do?!!!! So tiresome being a DIY disaster female!! I don't want Tim to feel that I don't trust him to do what he says is the right thing to do, but he is only young and has no experience in these things as yet and I cannot advise or show him the right way, so here we sit, without any blinds or wall thingy and a sad look on our faces!
We do both have internet though - hurray!!! I bought the 'hub' whatever that is, and Tim has put the wires around the rooms and connected it and despite it saying on mine that I am not connected to the router ( whatever that is), we are both using it at the same time, so who cares???

Yes, Ineke, Miranda is good telly. I watched the first series last year on BBC2 and it was very funny. I love that sort of humour. I saw it was now being shown here but have not watched them again as yet. It is typically British I think, that we can have a sitcom with so few people in it and yet get so much laughter out of the script. My other favourite has to be Two and a Half Men - great comedy. It is apparent that the autumn is approaching because the various senders are all advertising their new series - Grey's is starting soon, and others are ending. Apparently there is a new series of Ugly Betty about to start in the UK too; also very good to watch. But what will the BBC have turned into a series for us costume drama lovers I wonder? I do so love a good Austen, but Dickens is not my thing at all. What about Hardy for a change? Fantastic locations and wonderful storylines, there's a though chaps?

I am in organising mode; can tell I live alone now!! I need something to look forward to and have decided on a long weekend next spring.
Destination: check.
Fellow travellers: check. Places still available.
Date: 2011, spring.
Plan: check.
I do so love organising!! :-)

Tomorrow Hillie and I are hitting Amersfoort for the day so I am looking forward to a day of relaxed 'shop 'n chat' with my friend. But first I need to tackle the ironing mountain from last week and then sit a while and just 'chill'. You too?
Sue xx

ok, so I am a tiny bit pleased....

Phew, what a long day so far! It looked so overcast this morning as I drove to work and the radio talked about thunderstorms etc, but in fact it turned out reasonably well. And I finished work at 2pm so more time to get home and onto the mass of administrative problems that have been just sitting here waiting for my attention. So far so good!!
Genghis went out this morning and sat under my car growling at a very sweet grey pussycat  who wanted to come inside! Then he growled at Finka by mistake...and since then he is just going into the garden and not wanting to go out the front.
I have finally got all our things from my friends house; we have pans!!! In celebration I am going to cook burgers this evening - wow!!!
And I was totally happy when you called me...............such a wonderful surprise as I was expecting the floor company, and then I heard a familiar voice and I was totally blown away!! Do it again!!!!!
I have bought blinds for the kitchen as the sun is so forceful in the morning when I go downstairs...red ones. Sorry!!! I was thinking white in my mind, but my heart said red. Have to try and fix them up later on today. I have got a few pictures hanging in the living room at last but they are not perfectly placed - do that when the walls have been done, but it does give a more homely feel to the room I think. I wonder where all the other ones are?...................
I am so glad that it is only half a day tomorrow. I can manage that I guess. I am still unhappy about my car too - that little itch telling me there is something wrong just won't go away. Another light came on today when we were in Enkhuizen so I called at the garage and got it tested and I am praying that it has been solved by the nice man there who wanted to help me out. I suspect a fault in the electronic system or starter....but I don't really know anything about cars; this is just my suspicions talking dear!
So, have to carry on phoning people about the letters and issues that have come to my attention this week and then dinner! I am so hungry having not eaten too well this week what with being tired and rushing around and going to bed early etc.
Sue xx

Another day....

Good morning!! I love the way I can always start a day feeling great, full of energy and able to get things done. It soon drains away though......have to do something about my low BP I suppose.
Becci says this about her new job:-
It sounds something she would love doing so I am sure that she will be successful at it.

It's working for an organisation called MH, I'll be a life skills worker for young people aged 15-25 who have been made homeless for various reasons and now live in sheltered accommodation. I'll be working on site helping them learn skills to become indpendent or get a job, education, doing workshops on drug abuse, teaching them basic skills etc. It should be really good, I'm looking forward to it!

Last of our things

This evening we collected the last of our belongings so that we finally have got everything here and we have nothing left over anywhere else! Feels so strange as they were the personal things that I had left til last...ones that have the most meaning to me really. I cannot do much with them right now but it is great to know they have moved in with us!!
I am exhausted still. Too much to do and not enough time to do it in until next month so it is frustrating the life out of me! And I miss you so much.................
Work is fine. Being there daily the clients are getting to the stage when they will wonder where I have gone when I stop next month! I will miss them as well to be frank. It has been good to be there and see how the week goes for my colleagues and what problems arise etc and what can be done about them. On the other hand I am looking forward to just being here and getting to grips with the house.
Tim is happy to be home I think - our neighbour is helping him set up his TV at the moment as that is not doing what it ought to, so I hope that will make Tim feel better. I am going to bed soon as I still have two days to work.......but roll on the weekend please! Then it is just one more week without you...........
Sue xx

When your brother wants to be a patisserie chef......

Found these photos on Becci's facebook - now I know why I have not heard from my children! They are busy in the kitchen baking millions of cupcakes!!! Look great with colours and sprinkles and smarties and flowers - I suppose Tim has fallen in love with English cooking ingredients and fancy bits and doesn't want to come home?!.....who were you going to find to eat them all is what I want to know?!!! Me! Me! Actually it is kinda funny because today we were baking small cakes for the 'broodjeszak" in Schagen,  and I decided to add some butter cream to them and turn them into butterfly cakes which the clients ate faster than I could imagine! So we were busy with the same things, kids; must run the the family genes, eh?
Sue xx

Start of the week

So today I felt a lot more awake at work, and managed to last the day without too much tiredness creeping in! It was a hectic morning with a lot happening but that made it pass quicker I suppose. We were busy with so many things all at once, and there was a client who needed to talk to me about something serious and a lot of administration to tend to...but I enjoyed it. It felt more like the 'old days' when I was in England and I liked that feeling. Tired now of course, and frustrated with the situation regarding my mail etc but then again, once it is all sorted out then I suppose I will be happy with it again. One side of the seesaw to the other! Thank goodness I sent out all those mails yesterday!!! Today it would have been impossible so to see.........interference that is out of my control never makes me happy.
Genghis has ventured outside whilst I sat on the doorstep, and got as far as across the road. He came back of his own volition and so I take it it was enough for one day! Finka just watches him from the windowsill.
(Well, I am hating this already.................you know what I mean)!!
Sue xx

3 peaks challenge

Ann, Harry and I were talking about this challenge that Becci and her friends are training for for next year. Wow, it is some challenge and certainly not for the faint-hearted! We were unsure as to exactly what it entailed so I sat down and looked it up ( now I have the net! xx) and this is it: in a continuous 24 hour period which includes travelling and walking the peaks, you are expected to walk up BEN NEVIS ( Scotland, 1344 metres);  SCARFELL PIKE ( England 978m) and SNOWDON ( Wales, 1085m). ( ...and I know you are going to tease me about the English one being the shortest)! You need to get up and down pretty fast so that you can drive from one peak to the other in time, so you are looking at 4 to 5 hours of walking and then being driven to the next peak etc until you are completely exhausted!!! Becci and Tim were supposed to be doing a 5 hour walk this weekend as part of her schedule but that was all on the flat! Her godfather, Uncle Peter, in his wisdom, advised her to just walk up and down the stairs in very tall buildings for 6 months to get more of an idea of what is is about. I think he might be right, darling! I am impressed and very proud of her for wanting to do something so extreme as this - and if she does it, I will make sure I am there to see it, I promise, Becci.
Well, Genghis has had his first snuffle out front this afternoon. He wandered along the gardens to the right of us and sniffed a few large shrubs and then came back again. He wanted to go out just now too, but our neighbour was in the garden so that put him off.
I have spent a happy couple of hours 'browsing' magazines. Nothing like English homes and gardens magazines to wet my appetite! I found them all in one of the boxes so couldn't resist having a little look.....and then I started thinking about Christmas!!! Some of them were from last year when I was in Stafford, that's why, not that I am thinking about present lists, what to eat....course not!!! Would I be doing that? And weighing up the chances of a visit to a reclamation yard in the near future............I do know of one here in Holland believe it or not! Trying to be creative in what I can re-use instead of thinking about what I need to buy etc. Sleek, flat walls versus tatty old-looking ones that I feel more comfortable with really....chandeliers......mmm, tempting.
I confess to starting to yawn and feel tired now that it is almost 5.30pm so I think it is another early night for me as I am back to working all week. At least it is only 4.5 days this week so I get Friday afternoon off. Once this month is over think of all that lovely spare time  I will have earned!! Something to look forward to next weekend is my day out in Amersfoort with Hillie, which I hope is still happening. We have been arranging this for so long now, that I have got everything crossed that nothing crops up this time to prevent us meeting up there. Now, that ought to have got me up to date with blogging for a while, shame I cannot get the photos uploaded but my printer still needs connecting this week but I reckon we can manage that ourselves............
sue xx

Inspiration!!!

See, this is what I want to achieve in our house! I have always, always wanted to have a bookcase around a door for as long as I can remember. I am determined to achieve that this time!!! We have the perfect opportunity to do it in the doorway between the kitchen and the living/dining room so we will persevere until it happens. I just wanted to show you what I have in my head!!! I love the one on the right because it is more quirky and me-like, the whole place........but that is in New England and even though it is somewhere I have always wanted to visit, I live here! Ideally it would be a tailor-made effort, measured exactly to the right dimensions................that is first choice. I know there is always Ikea..............but I have to go there first with Ann and see what their measurements are and whether it can be painted anything other than white! The softer tones of cream are more conducive to the rest of the scheme aren't they...and looking at these pictures I can see that the two sides don't have to match so I can have more just like Oliver Twist said!!!! :-)
Sue xx

A little later, happy bunny!

............I have someone watching over me I guess...no sooner had I written down that I was miserable without my computer and no internet when Hey Presto!! I was rescued!!! So here I am sitting at my own computer in my bedroom, typing happily away and thinking that I am one very lucky lady. So thank you, even though I know you don't like me saying it, I mean it from the bottom of my heart.
I was trying to find a different song for the blog and I did listen to the John Mayer one, but it made me sad so I think I will have to pass on that one! Or have I misinterpreted the lyrics?..........however, this is one I listen to on the way to work most mornings so I chose this one instead. I wonder if Becci is happy with the old tapes I sent off to her with Tim? There were ones I had compiled myself as well as ones I used to enjoy, and then there were a few I simply couldn't bear to part with. Too many memories wrapped up in them I guess. I have to get my CD's out of the attic next so that  I can play some of them this week.
The sun is shining now so I think I will go outside and get some fresh air in my lungs. Maybe even go to Enkhuizen as I need some shopping. I have got my cookery books on the shelves hurrah!!! I fancy making something tasty for myself this evening after weeks of salads!
Take care,
Sue xx

one week on

Finally worked out how to switch on Tim's computer this morning...............but so many things I can't figure out and that is just too frustrating for words!! I can't access my mail accounts or know what is happening with anything important and I am getting more and more worried that I am missing vital information. Help!! It is such a pain when people can't remember passwords or want to help just to get you on your feet, and 'have no time' for you when you have done everything for them in the past!!! Despite being one of the most optimistic people you could hope to know, it does not sit easily with me when I am up against the selfish attitudes of others, and I find it immeasurably difficult to reconcile their way of behaving with my own life codes. Biting my tongue and keeping quiet and suffering in silence...........all not things I enjoy but find myself doing right now. So, in order not to become like them, I will move on in more positive tones about what IS good!!!
Sitting here this morning in the quiet of an empty house I am feeling peaceful and still. This last week I have not slept very much at all, but over the weekend I have started to get more sleep and I am not waking up yawning and feeling it is immediately time for bed again! Working every day is proving hard going when one is sleep deprived, and my clients have noticed that I am dangerously low on energy round about 2pm each afternoon, and they fall into the same trap of doing nothing! Luckily I am working with other colleagues each day, and sometimes I only have to do 10-3 which I could come to love.............arriving before coffee and leaving after coffee suits me perfectly! I have decided not to do anything in the house until next month when I ought to be more physically strong again and will have more time on my hands to get on with the decorating downstairs. I have been living with one saucepan and the gas hob this week, as my pans are still in storage and the oven is not connected yet. Where is an electrician when one needs one?!
Genghis is trying his best to suss out the neighbourhood and I realise that I will soon have to allow him to go out the front door and see what happens. It is always a risk moving with animals, but he is an old cat and quite sensible so I think he has to try and see where he ends up. He doesn't tend to go far, so maybe today if it is not raining I will open the front door and do some gardening and let him sit out there with me. Finka is only in the back garden so far, and then on her lead. She has ambitions to climb fences; I see it in her eyes!! Yesterday Ann and Harry came round for a coffee and chat which was really nice of them; my first visitors!! Tim is in England staying with Becci for a few days, hence the peace and quiet....he needed the break from all of this upheaval and he was really happy to be seeing his sister for a mini holiday at hers. Since I haven't heard anything from them as yet, I take it all is well????................
This is a long post so must mean that I am missing my blogging a lot! I am going to miss more things this coming fortnight, and that is something that I am not looking forward to at all.
Sue xx

Still alive (just!)

Hi, we have moved but there is no computer for me as yet so I am not even floating around in cyberspace...I'm grounded! I hope that it will soon be up and running again - or I borrow time on my son's whilst he is away - so that I can update you all with what's been happening. Suffice to say that we are 'in' and adapting nicely to our new life. The cats are behaving well and seem to be content now that they know we did not leave them behind. I think that was what was worrying  Genghis the most because he was constantly following me around and even jumped in the car at one point!! But bless them, they are in love with my bed and are  mostly to be found either on there on between us on the settee downstairs.
I am super tired, and super happy to be getting on with my life again, so as soon as things are connected you will be hearing more from me!
Sue xx