Happy Birthday To Roman

Hello Everyone,

Today is my darling grandson Roman`s fourth birthday and I`m finding it hard to believe. Fours years old already! Mind you, if you could listen to him he sounds like a mini adult at times the things he comes out with.

Last Saturday week was his birthday party which was a great success. The weather stayed fine all afternoon and all his little friends enjoyed themselves. They were all very good which was a bit surprising considering there were eight 4 yr old boys in attendance. I took some great photos of them altogether but for obvious reasons I can`t publish them on here.

I can however show you some of Roman at his party,



The "Roary" birthday cake made by his Auntie Beryl


Attacking me with his inflatable sword...lol!



Looking cute

Today Kerry and I took him to Windsor to feed the ducks. As we walked along the river he told me all about his presents and the new school he will be attending full time in September, and his girlfriend Connie! He is so proud of the new scooter that his mummy and daddy bought him and of course the turbo-charged, super-dooper water pistol that Kerry thought was a good idea. He told me very matter of factly that he intends to shoot daddy with it....I wouldn`t want to be in Slava`s shoes...lol! Jim and I gave him his presents at the party but held one back for today. He`s always wanted a fire engine so that was what he got today, he loves it and it was a joy to see his face when he opened it. He`s just so grown in so many ways but to me he`ll always be my special boy! I know many of you have watched his progress from birth so I hope you will join me in wishing him a very Happy Birthday. :o)

A Saturday Catch up

It`s been an odd week. I`ve had news that three friends are very unwell with potentially serious conditions. To preserve their privacy I won`t go into details but it`s very worrying. I don`t see any of them on a day to day basis but I wish them all well and hope they all recover quickly.

I haven`t been feeling 100% myself if I`m honest. It`s most likely nothing more than a virus but this morning I awoke with a painful throat. Hopefully it will come to nothing as it usually does. Also I have had a small painless cyst on my bottom lip for a few years. When I first noticed it I had it checked by a doctor just to be on the safe side. I was told to forget it and so I have done until now. Yesterday evening it became very painful and swollen and I look as though I`ve been in a fight! I`ll see how it is on Monday and if it`s still as bad I`ll make an appointment to see the doctor.

Roman has his 4th birthday party on Saturday 18th. It`s not his birthday until the 28th but Kerry has decided to have it early before any of his friends go away on holiday. We are hoping for good weather because there are a lot of people coming and she only has a small house so we need the space in the garden for all the guests. In case of rain we have a gazebo to keep everyone dry.

Today Kerry went shopping for Roman`s school uniform and spent what amounted to a small fortune. Of course she had to buy everything with the school emblem from the official school shop which always makes it more expensive. On top of that there are still the new shoes, socks and plimsolls/sneakers to be bought. I told her that I will buy the coat and Jim will get the shoes at the end of the month. I still find it hard to believe that Roman is old enough for full-time school but he just can`t wait to go. For such a young child he is frighteningly independent and so unlike he was just a year ago. There was a time when he shied away from other children and now he makes friends wherever he goes.

Sophie has had a dreadful cold but is over it and back to her usual self. As Kerry said, " I know she`s feeling better because she`s crying again so that everyone knows she`s there!" Oh yes, that`s my Sophie...quiet and laid back is just not her way...lol! She is beautiful when she smiles though, it`s just that I don`t think smiling is her style at the moment.

I`ve noticed Blogger is very quiet and many of my old friends just don`t post as often as before, and I thought I was the only one. I don`t know if it is the AOL journals effect or just that real life is getting in the way of computer time. I know I`m in no position to talk as I know I don`t post much these days, but its just an observation. I won`t stop posting altogether but it`s a lot different to how it used to be. I don`t know if I`m the only one but at the moment I can`t change the font on my posting as the tool that you change it with has disappeared, so has the colour change too. I just wonder if Blogger know about it and are they doing anything about it?

I`m not busy at work now the planting season has passed but I`m happy to be able to spend some more time in my garden. The runner beans have provided us with enough beans for several meals already. I`ve had ripe blueberries and a couple of tasty tomatoes and I`m hopefully for lots and lots more. Since the heatwave has been replaced with cooler, more overcast weather it seems to be slowing everything down in the garden, even the weeds which I`m happy to say I`m on top of. At the moment we are planning the extension to our patio and the further alteration of the flower beds. I`ll never be happy with my garden as it is and constantly feel the need to change it. I suppose though that a garden is an ongoing thing which really is never finished whatever you do to it. I just hope I can stay healthy so I can work outside for as many years as possible.

Anyway, I`ll finish now as it`s time for my evening meal and despite feeling a bit under the weather my appetite is good as ever. Take care all of you and have a great weekend. :o)

I`m Still Here!

Me at RHS Wisley




On the beach at Boscombe




Roman having fun on a bouncy castle at his cousin Charlie`s birthday party.


Isn`t she gorgeous?



Hello everyone,

I thought I`d better post an entry as it`s been weeks since my last one. I suppose with one thing and another, ie; real life and probably a bit of laziness thrown in has something to do with it.

Anyway, I`m here now so I`ll quickly let you know how we all are.

I`m fine, very busy at work and in my garden. Housework is taking second place to the garden but I`m still managing to get everything done eventually, at the expense of computer time and even watching TV. Jim is also very well. he`s been doing some fishing, including his much awaited sea fishing trip. To my displeasure he gave all the fish he caught to Danny and Slava...hmm...its not as if they didn`t catch anything either...Oh well, its back to fish fingers I suppose...lol!

Roman and Sophie are really thriving. Roman had his last big school visit today and Kerry was introduced to his new teacher Mrs. Andrews. Kerry was relieved that she seemed very nice and was surprised to find Roman had met her previously. It all sounds very grown-up and Roman can`t wait to go. The only downside for him is that his best friend Toby lives in a different catchment area so will be attending another school. Luckily Toby`s mum and Kerry have become friends so they will still see each other regularly. They are inseparable and think the world of each other.

Sophie is 12 weeks old now and is 14lbs. She hasn`t been the easiest baby, temperament-wise but she seems to be settling down a bit more now. Up until recently she cried whoever picked her up, including ME, her devoted grandmother (that never happened with Roman!) Lately though she seems to be mellowing and hopefully will be as laid back as her big brother. I must admit I have enjoyed buying pretty little dresses for her though she grows so quickly I tend to buy cheaper ones now. She is wearing clothes for a size 6-9 month old baby as 3-6 is just too small now. The way shes growing she`ll be bigger than Roman before she`s a year old...lol!

As you will know if you live in the British Isles, many of us have been sweltering in a heatwave the last fortnight. I love Summer, but Oh my goodness, it`s just that bit too hot for me at the moment. A slight breeze would be nice, just to cool things down a degree or too along with some steady overnight rainfall because I`m fed up with carry watering cans up and down the garden night after night. My arms are so long now I`m starting to resemble an Orangutan!

A few weeks ago I had a weeks holiday, if you can call it that. I think I was busier that week than when I`m getting paid for working. On the Monday I went out shopping on my own, a rare treat. I think the best bit was sitting in Starbucks with a cappuchino and some fruit bread, reading a magazine and just relaxing...perfect. That was the last leisurly day though. On Tuesday we took Roman to Boscombe in Dorset for the day. We`d never been there before but I`d read that it was a lovely place but quieter than it`s neighbour Bournemouth. Well we had a wonderful day there. The car park was just a few yards for the beach, which was sandy and very clean. The whole area was very well kept and with the weather also being excellent we couldn`t have had a better day. Roman loved making sand castles and was a very good boy all day. We had a lovely lunch at a nice restaurant overlooking the beach. In fact it was a perfect day for us all.

On the Wednesday Jim and I did some work in the garden, he`s been painting the fences and putting up some new trellis`s for me. We really did work hard all day and I really pleased with the progress in my garden. We have plans to extend the patio and widen and reshape the flower beds. I know once its finished it will look really good, though it will probably take ages to do, which of course is all the fun of gardening. I must admit that evening we DID have rather sore backs though a good night`s sleep took care of that.

On Thursday we visited the Royal Horticultural Gardens at Wisley in Surrey. It was another lovely day though a bit cooler, just the way it should be when there is a lot of walking involved. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day out but very tiring and hard on the legs. They had some lovely plants that I had my eye on but when I visited their plant centre the best ones that I wanted had all sold out...sigh. H-o-w-e-v-e-r....me being me didn`t let a little thing like that stop me from buying a `few` new plants. Oh no, I spent an hour and a half selecting some new specimens to add to my borders. Poor Jim, who was pushing the trolley for me kept reminding me of how long we`d been there. Yes I know his feet DID probably ache...but so did mine but the plants were more important...lol! ;o)

On the Friday it rained so I decided to use that time doing housework, very boring but necessary. It might have been a week of but I was relived to get back to work for a well earned rest...lol!

Do you know, despite not writing for so long I can`t for the life of me think what else has happened over the last few weeks. Well of course I HAVE been watching tennis at Wimbledon and this afternoon watched our own Andy Murray lose to Andy Roddick. I`m disappointed but he`s very talented and only just 22, he`ll be back next year that`s for certain.

Anyway, my friends, if I`ve got any left that is! I hope you`re all well and do have a lovely weekend. Take care. :o)