The North/East Winds doth blow

Hi Friends,

How are you all as the season of our festivities begin ?  Thanksgiving has past and now Christmas looms ahead.  Are you ready or like me just beginning to think about it.  For our family it will be a very different one from our previous Christmas Day celebrations.. we all go to John and Sarah's where John is usually in charge..or so he liked to think ! Sarah having been ever present at his elbow giving various instructions  LOL....This year Beth says she is going to try to give us all as near to normal a Christmas as possible and that will be different.    However before all that happens a lot of days lie in between and no doubt they will pass just as quickly as the whole of this year has.

I have got all my cards written and stamped...also Mary's,  so they will be posted fairly soon..maybe even at the weekend....weather permitting.....most of the overseas ones are now well on their way....Yesterday we spent a few hours wrapping up some gifts and finding out if any more needed to be bought...thankfully not much more.     You may have noticed that I said that the cards might go at the weekend ...weather permitting....The reason for that statement is that we are having a very early start to our winter. We don't normally get very low temps. and snow much before January and even then not a great deal of snow....however this year it has all started far to early for my liking...Since Friday our temp. has not risen above 0 indeed yesterday morning it was at -7 and we have had snow. Thankfully for us here in Box not an awful lot but enough to me inconvenient as it froze on landing making the roads like ice rinks. I stay at the top of an incline and no way can I get the car out when it is like that and so I have been stuck indoors...until that is this afternoon when the temp rose to the dizzy heights of +2 !! frost melted and I got the car out and up to see Sarah.  i was so pleased as I hadn't seen her since Friday. I knew she was ok as we keep in touch with phone calls and the carers have managed to get to her each day. They could not get their cars down the hill but parked on the main road and then walked up through the garden to get to her...(tonight the carer had to come to get her to bed at 4.30 !!! as they had been instructed not to attempt to get to her after it was too dark !) poor Sarah, however she is quite snug in bed and has the TV etc all on hand so will be ok. It just makes it a very long night and a short day...carer comes any time between 8.30 and 10am in the morning !! I am praying that perhaps when she is stronger ..soon ...she won't need the morning and evening carers.

You might have noticed that I have changed the photo on top to a new one for the Advent season..It is the nativity scene that I have had for many many years..around 50 years I should think as it is one Sarah sent to us when she lived in Germany as a Nanny..and that was in the mid 50s !! gosh can it be that long ago  !!

Now I am going to TRY to add a URL for you so that you can perhaps listen to it. It is of a young man playing the accordion. He was a young lad at the school where Mary was a house mother he has cerebral palsy and use of only his left side...he has turned into an amazing musician and is much in demand in Scotland, he has even gone with another ex house mother to South Africa to help her in setting up a charity to help a village there he was teaching the children how to play music and recording it for them

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V-mQkleGQc

Good night all.    remember to keep LOVING ONE ANOTHER.

Engagments...

Hello Friends,



Oh my it's overcast today. Quite a grey and miserable looking morning outside. I don't feel miserable today though. I feel pretty good. I slept well, and have no aches and pains, so I was ready to face today.
It has actually been raining almost all day.  So I have not been out at all and neither has Mary. Our kind neighbour brought down our morning paper so that saved Mary getting wet...how we are blessed with good neighbours.   I decided to make a start on the Christmas cards today..and between Mary and I we got well down the list, perhaps Friday we will get Mary's list started...and finished !!   Tomorrow Margaret and Mitch come over so it will be a busy day.  Mary is going out to a local garden centre with one of the clubs she goes to so she won't be in for lunch, but will keep her some back for later.


Congratulations yesterday to our lovely Prince William on his engagement to Kate Middleton. I don't know about you all, but I think they look a lovley pair.I thought that is was so lovely of William to use his Mothers engangement ring. I just wish I could get some photographs included in the text as there have been some lovely ones in our press.  However I expect they have been flashed across the worlds press and so therefore you will have been able to enjoy them as well.   On tonights news we hear that a decision will be made before the end of the week as to the date and place that the wedding will take place. It appears that Westminster abbey is the most likely venue...

Thank you for remembering Sarah Mary, Beth and I in your prayers. Things are still very difficult for Sarah and as we love her so...difficult for us....However we continue to pray that one day soon she will come out of the deep depression that I think is holding her back...

Goodnight.....LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

October Days.

Good Morning Friends,
I was not a happy bunny last night as for the first time in almost a month I got down to updating this blog...only to see it disappear into thin air after i had spent an age doing it !!!
However today is another day and before I get started properly I feel I must get back even if it might be a bit shorter than last nights edition...............you will never know  LOL.........
Things here continue in much the same manner.  My dear sister is home now from hospital and just trying  to keep herself together. She is now on oxygen 16 hours a day and is finding things very hard to come to terms with.  We keep saying that it is early days yet and to try to keep calm, but at the same time we are trying to encourage her to look forward even if it is only a day at a time..It is very difficult for us all, Sarah has always been the kind of person to take control over things and it is hard not to be able to ask her advise, she just feels so tired all the time.She cannot see a way forward that she wants...
Mid October saw Mary, my friend Pam and her husband Henry go away for a 4 day coach tour.  We were staying in North Norfolk. ( If you look at a map of the UK you will find the county of Norfolk just above London it is the part that juts out into the north sea)  that is a significant statement as I say it juts out into the North Sea and consequently it is the first place to be hit by the cold North winds travelling down from the far north !!!  Yes it was blowing whilst we were there....I being an optimist said it was "bracing" others said it was bitterly cold !!   We were staying in a small village called Mundesley right on the coast there is a small complex of holiday cottages there actually it is called MundesleyHoliday Village and includes an entertainment centre etc. It was the first time we had been there and we were very impressed with the quality of the food and the accommodation especially as it was a very cheap short holiday..Each day the driver took us out around 9.45 and we would be taken a short drive o see the various small towns and villages around returning about 3pm.  Just long enough for us to enjoy ourselves.  We went to Cromer one day this is an old fishing town unfortunately I say old as there is very little fishing done from there nowadays...in it's hay days it was very famous for it's Crab and Cromer Crab is still enjoyed whilst there...the same day we went to Sherringham another lovely seaside town as it was lat October most of the "holiday shops" had closed down or were about to, still it was nice to imagine what it would be like at the hight of summer.  The next day turned out to be a very special one for me...we stopped at a village called Holt, famous for lots and lots of art galleries and antique shops. As we entered the village I saw signs for a Rolf Harris Painting Exhibition.  Now this eshibition is touring the country and I had wanted to see it very much and had been disappointed to see that the nearest place to Box that I could have seen it was Birmingham and therefore I had put it out of my head. so you can imagine my delight on seeing the sign, in fact I really couldn't quite believe that it was there in this small village...Just near where the coach driver set us down I saw a gallery and two people standing outside I said did they know where the Rolf Harris Exhibition was being shown....yes it was that very gallery, once I had found out that it was accessible I was pulling Mary in like a shot.. I was not disappointed as he had some very spectacular paintings and some sculpture on display. Then as I turned a corner there in front of me was a picture that took my breath away...I immediately "saw" it hanging on my sitting room wall... it was one of only 195 and so was actually out of my usual purchase price !!!!  However Mary said she would give me money towards it for Xmas and I called my Brother in law and asked if he and Margaret would like to make a donation as well....and before I could change my mind I was whipping out the credit card and saw "my" painting come off the wall to be taken downstairs to be wrapped and sent to me the following week.   The painting is called "Fishermen by moonlight" and although I love it, I realise that art is very much in the eyes of the beholder and it may not be to every ones taste.  The main colours are dark blues, pinks, and greens  just as the sky can be like just as the moon is shining down reflecting on the water.. So really that was a most exciting day...Other than when I bought a diamond ring in South Africa I have never spent so much money on myself..  as Mary said I rarely buy anything but when I do.....well credit card, look out LOL
Since we got home the cold I developed when we were away is refusing to go away and I think that is making me feel to lethargic and that is why I haven't been around very much. Please forgive me I haven't even been making comments on your blogs, but many days it is reading them that has raised my spirits so thank you.   I have been enjoying the wonderful weather we have had this early in November we have only had one really cold frosty morning so far and I can't remember the last time we have had such a wonderful colour in the Autumn leaves it has been breathtaking.
     Last Monday at our Wesley Guild meeting Pam my friend had us all making coasters.   she brought lots of cork mats, and paints, stamps, and other "bits" that we could all use. None of our members had ever done anything like that and I think most of them enjoyed the change, It was amazing to see the deigns and colours that they came up with.  Pam has taken them all home now and Henry is going to varnish them for everyone.
Thank you all once more of all your encouraging words these last few awful months.

Please never ever forget to  LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

New Day's

Hello Friends,
I am back again after a difficult week or two after the funeral which went as well as they can do. There were over 150 people there and many fine tributes were paid to John. So now we must try to pick ourselves up again and start a new phase in our lives.   

   These three weeks inbetween have been busy ones as my dear Sister Sarah,  John's wife, became increasingly poorly after the funeral and the following week was admitted into hospital where she still is. However the good news is that she will be home on Monday and we will all be so happy. Sarah has a breathing condition called CPOD and her breathing became much worse, this resulted in her becoming so unwell that she hardly had any strength  however she is on the mend now and after a few weeks recovering at home with extra oxygen and some help I am sure she will slowly recover.

As I say these last three weeks or so have been busy...mainly visiting hospital, shopping, etc. so I have no "real" news.  Just wanted to pop in to let ou know that soon I hope to be back to more regular blogging.
Thank you all for understanding....love Sybil
LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Hello Friends,
I have not a lot to write tonight but just wanted you all to know that my dear Brother in law John died this morning peacefully at home surrounded by his loved ones just as he would have wanted. He had a very quiet weekend and was pain free. We want you to know how much we have appreciated all your prayers, thoughts and good wishes during these past 10 weeks. John was a very much loved gentleman much more then he could have ever realised as has been shown by all the visits, flowers,cards, and telephone calls from all over the country. I am glad that he was able to know fully how much we all loved him. I will miss him so very much, it is hard at this time to imagine our lives without him. whatever was needing done, ask John, John will know what to do, was always the first thing we would say. When John retired almost 10 years ago it gave him more time to enjoy his hobby of woodworking. One of his friends wrote a poem to him that I am glad to say he was able to read and it says more about him than I could ever say, I have asked my sister Sarah if I can print it here and so I end my tribute to John with the following words,

MY FRIEND JOHN.

The tree stands steady, through autumn mists

The biting cold of winter and summer droughts.

Birds, insects squirrels and dormice are his friends.

His spirit is strong

Until he becomes the chosen one,

The perfect plank. Cold, spiritless, waiting.

The man stands steady through toil and turmoil,

Stress and bereavement.

The people he meets are his friends.

They tell him their troubles

He holds their hands and comforts them.

His spirit is strong.

He takes the wood from the dead tree.

And lovingly breathes life

Into the perfect shape his hands create.

The tree's spirit wakens and remembers

The man and the tree are one

Their spirits intertwine

For ever.

I know that John would always join me in reminding you all to never forget to

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Quiet days.

Good Morning Friends,

I am sorry that I have not been around much these past couple of weeks. However I have not been out and about very much as I like to be as near home as possible certainly within phone range and as I have had problems with my mobile reception from Vodaphone this has made things even more difficult...I hope though to go into Chippenham at some point this week and get into the shop to complain...yet again.... So what have we been up to...in a word NOTHING !!

I had a very welcome e mail from my dear friends in New Zealand to say that they were safe after the awful earthquake that they have had..although Bob and Mary are in the north Island and the quake hit the south it is not such big country that it was nor felt "up north"

Just wanted to keep you all up to date especially with John news. We have had a real roller coaster time these past two weeks. There have been days when we have thought that the end was very near...even the nurses have not given us much encouragement on these days....Then a couple of days later he has perked up...indeed last week he was so well he was even got out of bed helped by dear Beth and into the wheelchair able to get out on the deck in the sunshine for an hour or so...they were able to have great chat together which was wonderful...at the weekend he again went down quite badly especially on Saturday. Beth arranged to stay overnight and Max came over as well...by Sunday he once again came "back to himself" so as I say it is all a bit of a roller coaster..I promise I will try to keep in touch as and when I can. Thank you all for all your prayers E.mails and thoughts that I have felt travelling over all the miles between us....
I am going to try to add a new picture..it is a bit of a nuisance that I still have not managed to get pictures in between my printed work....never mind just another thing to try my patience...or what I have of that it is in short supply at the moment LOL

Love to you all and remember always to LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Vistits, Balloon Trips,

Hi Friends,

Sorry for long silence however things have been quite hectic around here this last week or two. I last wrote the day my dear BIL John came home from hospital, such a happy day for us all as it is all we had prayed for that he could get home amongst us and as well as possible for as long as possible. I am glad to say that it has been such a delight to have him home, he has slowly got a little more poorly but still retains his old humour and has us laugh at times. He is now very tired and sleeps a lot but that to is good for us, as we are just happy to have him here amongst us.

Just before the news that John would be home I was saying that my friend Sheila had visited from Edinburgh. she was here for a week and we did enjoy her visit. On the Saturday I had another visitor this time the lady who originally owned this home. it was a long time since she had been here and it was so good to see her again. Also was nice to be able to share with her the alterations that have been done over the years. As it was a nice sunny afternoon we all managed a walk along the dog walk (in my case a trundle!!) Janet hadn't seen the new walk and the lovely pond at the end of the walk she was most impressed, we ended with a walk through the rec. and along the main road, it was so lovely to be sharing the village.When it was time to go back to her friends I drove her to Warminster with Mary and Sheila, it was a very wet drive down and back but I was more than delighted just to have had a few hours with her company. Thank you Janet..come again soon...

Monday saw us saying a sad farewell to Sheila, she was off to visit her daughter in Cardiff . Next day Mary had to do her packing for her trip up to Edinburgh. she had been very hesitant about going as she did not want to leave with John being so poorly but I am glad in the end she did as she missed her annual visit last year. I have heard daily from her and she has enjoyed herself. she will be home on Tuesday late.

Friday 13th. saw Peter and I and my friend Pam om our way to Bristol the to annual Balloon Fiesta. we have gone each year for the last three years. The weather this year was not bad...at least it was better than last year as we had only one brief rain shower, however there was a very gusty wind that prevented the balloons from getting blown up. It also curtailed the hoped for mass assent. still we had an enjoyable say as there are lots of other things going on and many many people for us to be looking at !!

This week I have had yet more visitors. This time a friend that Mary and I made on the cruise who is English but is married to an American (dear Skip who so much helped us on the cruise) she was over visiting her Mum and called to say she would come and visit and bring her Mum. I hadn't met her Mum, but Oh what a delight I was in for, she is so so lovely. They came down from London by coach Tues. am. and returned Wed. late afternoon Wed. so we had plenty time to do the tourist visit of Bath and surrounding area. They loved Bath and I am sure it won't be long now till "Mum" comes back down to visit. Yesterday my sister Margaret and husband Mitch were over as it was Thursday and they come that day. we went out for a nice lunch in Chippenham and I had to go and buy a new vacum cleaner. It was good to get it when they were here as Mitch got the job of carrying it and when we got home putting it all together !!

Today after the visit to see Sarah and John I have had a very lazy day, I did clean my cutlery drawer !! other than that I have read a book for a while and now watching, whilst writing this...Coronation street...

Thank you all for your prayers and love. It is very much appreciated.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER.