A short story for Halloween

It was a dark and stormy night , I was snuggled under the duvet in the old bedroom where I stayed as a child in the holidays, listening to the heavy rain as it hit the window panes. I had not been back here for 20 years, but was now here to visit my mum's sister, she had taken over this house after our aunt, our Great Aunt Ivy had died. My mind drifted back to a similar stormy night many years earlier when my sister, Becky & I had been sharing this room on a visit to Great Aunty Ivy's. How old would I have been? 8? maybe 9? Becky would have been 4. Mum and Dad had gone out leaving us in the care of Great Aunt Ivy, who smelt of moth balls and had the strangest of clothes, long skirts with pantaloons which showed when she sat down. Great Aunt Ivy didn't have children of her own, just a black dog that followed her everywhere. Great Aunt Ivy, we often went to visit her so my parents could go out and she would baby sit us. We hated it. She was so creepy and the smell just lingered wherever she went. She lived alone, she had once been married, but he had gone away years ago, I heard mum talking about him, he was a "bad'un and a drunk" and "glad to be rid" The thought of that particular night is making me shake with fear again, did it really happen? I still don't know for sure. Becky was too young to remember. We were in bed, Mum came in all dressed up in her long colourful evening gown, her hair piled up in a bun, she looked so beautiful, she kissed us goodnight and and told Great Aunt Ivy was downstairs if we needed anything and she'd see us in the morning. I was drifting off to sleep, when I woke with a start, there was shouting coming from somewhere, a man's voice, then a scream that would waken the dead. High pitched and persistent. Then the sound of something hitting the house wall, the house shook. Becky woke up too and started to cry. I was in a panic and shouted out " Aunty Ivy!!!". No one came. The house became quiet again. Becky had jumped in bed with me and I cuddled her. I called again "Aunty Ivy", just then the door opened and I could smell the moth balls before I saw her, Aunty Ivy was standing in the doorway, there a kind of flashing lights behind her coming from the road and she looked startled, flushed and what looked like blood running down her face . "Whatever is the matter?" she stuttered. I said about the screaming and the banging on the house. She looked at me in strange way and said " No, No, it's alright, You must have been dreaming my dear, there's been no noise here, I was watching the television, maybe that's what you heard, now come on dears let's settle back down to sleep." Her little dog wandered in and sat at the foot of my bed, he was covered in mud. Maybe I had been dreaming. Becky and I went back to sleep and in the morning, everything was normal, or so I thought. Mum & Dad were there making breakfast, they were talking quietly under their breath, like they didn't want me to hear. Aunty Ivy was in the garden planting up the vegetables so she said. She seemed to have done a lot of digging, the ground was freshly dug in a big rectangle and she was putting in Potatoes. She came back in and said, "There should be a good crop of potatoes there in a few weeks, got some good manure" I watched as the dog was digging into the soil, I thought I saw something sticking out of the ground like a thumb. Suddenly Aunty jumped out and chased the dog away and the "thumb" was seen no more. I blinked did I see that? Aunty came in and told the dog off for digging up her potatoes, she brought in a damaged potato, she said the dog had bitten off the potato sprouting root, so it was no good and she threw it away. My mind is back in the present, did that happen? What was the screaming and the banging against the house? I jumped out of bed, my heart banging in my chest, I grabbed my clothes, it was still pouring with rain and the wind was battering against me as I ran into the garden. But, where was the vegetable plot? The garden was completely changed. The area where the potatoes used to grow was now a large patio with a brick BBQ. I just stood and thought, well this is ridiculous, no one is going to believe me if I said I think there is a body under the patio. So I was about to go back indoors, I was getting soaked through but suddenly I thought I heard a sound, a sound of scratching and moaning it seemed to be coming from under the patio............... No, this cannot be , my mind is playing tricks , it must be the wind roaring through the trees......... a branch was scratching against the wall..I ran indoors and started crying...................... I caught my breathe, What was that smell, pungent and strong- mothballs! and I felt a breeze as if someone had passed by and from the corner of my eye I saw the shadow of a black dog coming in through the garden carrying a bone. Copyright E.Waight 2016

Empty nesting but still Life like "The Waltons" !

How can it be that the last time I wrote on my blog was Aug 2012? Where has that time gone? What have I done in that space of time? I think it is indicative of the increased work load I now have and the simplicity of using Face Book for brief updates on my daily life. I am what is known now as an Empty nester, yet the nest is far from empty! There are more people living at our address than before and more are due.Yet the house is empty and only one of the bedrooms is being used. How so? Well, that is because my middle daughter with her husband and 2 children with another on the way live in the garden! They have built a mobile flat packed home in the garden. It is very superior accommodation with 2 bedrooms, a lovely living /kitchen area, bathroom and hallway, and a Verandah. I also loved the idea of a verandah, loved the idea of house like the "Waltons", with Grandma on a rocking chair on the verandah, loads of children running around, Grandparents, parents and children all living, working and eating together. How close have we come to that ideal lifestyle? The answer is "yes", we have a really lovely family lifestyle, the grandchildren spend so much time at our house they feel as comfortable with us as they do their parents.We have dogs, cats, chickens. A large garden with a wood to play in and have adventures. Never a dull moment. We have big family meals together at the weekends but do our own separate thing during the week. We pop into each others all the time. We share milk, sugar, bread eggs and bacon, cheese whatever one hasn't got but the other has, so there is constant too-ing and froo-ing from the 2 houses. We cross the "car park" to get to each other's house. I say "Car park" advisedly as my husband Stan and son- in- law Nick have filled the drive way with cars, not just the ones they drive, but about 25 in total that they do up to sell, sometimes it's like a maze to get round the cars and we need a map to show us the way. This is us on a good day, covered in snow they look quite nice! I used to work from home which was the perfect solution but now I work from an office so do not spend so much time at home and miss my garden. This summer I hardly sat out in the garden.Though I know the rest of the family did. I am missing out, so not so much Waltons for me, only at the weekends. My eldest lives about an hour away and the youngest has just gone off to Uni, but as she met a young man from near home before she went we see her home more than she intended! So the nest is never quite empty. It is strange but nice to have some space to be us after all these years.Hubby and I are getting to know one another again. But being parents & grandparents is never far away.

Man bench

How perfect is this: A man bench outside a shop. Hubby Stan dislikes shopping with us girls intensely, but he doesn't like to be left out, so we shop he stands around outside, getting bored, and even more bored as we walk from shop to shop, looking and occasionally buying. In Sheringham recently we were doing just that when we came to a delightful little shop selling second hand children's clothes and new toys, it was in a little house and in the garden was this Man Bench. So Stan could sit and read his paper whilst we went in browsing and Emma bought a perfect little coat.

Well, was that summer?

The weather man seems to think summer is over on 31 August? What happened to the equinoxes? Do the weather bods think we can't cope with changes in seasons mid month? My birthday is 18 Sept and I've always believed it was in the summer still but apparently not now, apparently now it's in Autumn. Well that is not good, I want to still be a Summer baby. My hubby Stan's birthday is a week later and his is definitely in Autumn. But did we get a summer at all this year, did we go straight from Spring into Autumn? That is what it seems like to be honest. How many evenings have we been able to sit out in the garden? How many days have we've been able to be in the garden? BBQ's what are they ? We had 2 both indoors. Though I did go to my friends BBQ and that was a lovely warm evening.

Here I am cooking the kebabs.

Desert Island Books

On Purple Coo we had to choose what books we would take to our desert island (we did music the week before)

This is my list and I gained a Gold Star for it!

1)The Complete works of Charles Dickens- I'm ashamed to admit I've only ever read A Christmas carol & David Copperfield. So this will give me hours of entertainment.

2) Over the years I 've been a great fan of Joanna Trollops books so I have found the Trollop Omnibus which has 3 of my favourites; Village Affair, Passionate Man & Rector's Wife. For when I want an easy read and something to remind me of comfier times!

3) And I've got to have some Maeve Binchy too, there are several onmibuses of her works so I'll just choose Onmibus 2 Firefly Summer and Echoes.

4) Has to be Stephen Fry's Moab is my washpot- both growing up in Norfolk, sharing the same spaces but about 5yrs between us, I love reading of his early life.

5) Terry Wait Taken on trust- this book had a profound effect on me, I was so deeply moved by his account of being kidnapped.

6) Victoria Hislop The Island- loved the book, I have visited the island off Crete she wrote about where the lepers lived.

7) Annie Hawes Ripe for the picking- wonderful true story of woman settling in Italy, she was living my dream.

8) Mary Wesley Camomile Lawn- just adored this book and gave me love of Cornwall

So that's the 8- but as a luxury could I have a Bird book and binoculars

What would be your list and why?

My beautiful new dresser

Some of you will have noticed the top of a dresser in my header, so thought I would tell you about it.
This a an ebay find, I'd been looking for something a bit special for the blank wall in the Orangery and then I spotted this. I showed it to my hubby who didn't like it at all, saying it was too fancy, but that didn't stop me. I keep looking at it. Then I measured the space between the wall lights and wasn't sure if it would fit as dresser said it was 131cm and my space was 131cm too :-(
But I couldn't get it out of my mind, so I emailed the seller and asked her to measure that exact spot across where lights go and she came back with 130cm! Fantastic! It would fit.
I realised the seller lived in Hove and my HQ is also in Hove, so I asked the seller whereabouts she lived and it turned out to be less than a 2 minute walk from my office, so I just had to go and see it and of course once I'd seen it I was smitten and just had to have it. I gave a deposit and said I would sort out delivery with hubby.
That was the hard part, he wasn't that keen as he didn't really like it anyway. So I couldn't pin him down to a day to borrow the van and go and get it. Over a week went by and he wouldn't give me a time, then he said Thursday evening, so I tell the seller that day, then he couldn't do, I was so disappointed. he eventually agreed on Monday the next week and we did collect it then.
The seller is an amazing person, very artistic and lives in an amazingly creative, decorative home which she opens for Open House Art month in the summer.
I wish I had her skill. She bought this old dresser and completely reburbished it into shabby chic and I Love it! Hope you do too!

A Year has passed since I last wrote a post....

This is the scary thing, a whole year has gone by in a blink of an eye and I haven't had time to write a blog. I used to really enjoy doing my blogs, but somehow, life, Face book and twitter have taken over and longer, more meaningful comments have not happened.
The friend I wrote the letter to last year is with us no more, she passed away in November after struggling a very long time with her alcohol addiction, she was a lovely person but the drink ruined her. It was a bitter sweet death, many of us so relieved that she would suffer no more but that still doesn't prevent us feeling the loss.
But many good things have happened too. I have a new grandson and he is beautiful, it's such a joy having the young family living with us, we get to share all the ups and downs of having young children again, without the full responsibility.
It's also nearly 5 years since I was diagnosed with Breast cancer and had my mastectomy, that day 5 years ago when I received that news seems like it happened to another person. I am one of the fortunate ones, I'm still here and God Willing the Consultant will give the the All Clear in May when I next see him, though how I will cope without my 6 monthly checkups I do not know. The reaasurance is good but also the build up to the check up not knowing what they may find and he will probably say to stop taking the Tamoxifen which has also been part of my life for 5 years, I'm quite nervous about stopping the medication, again it gives me reassurance.

Letter to a friend- 25 Wedding anniversary

Dearest,

I got your phone message, so you’re still in hospital, I guessed as much. You must allow them to get you as well as possible before you go home again. Least in hospital you’re well looked after and they feed you and strengthen you up and it’s warm and you don’t have to pay for the heating!

It’s half term this week- yes, it’s come round again- so I am not working this week. I am off to Norfolk tomorrow to spend time with my sister and the family.

I had a busy sociable weekend. On Saturday I met my old school friend Petra for lunch. She lives in London but was staying in Surrey for the weekend to see her horsey friends. So we met in Cranleigh, which is just down the road from me and only 10mins from the horse place. We had loads of coffee, tea and panninis over the 2 hour lunch time, lovely to catch up. Petra is a wonderful person I have known her since I was 11, but you can hardly get a word in edgeways, she can talk for England, though always very fascinating stuff so I don’t mind a bit!

Then Saturday evening we had friends round for supper, all my family were there too, so there were 12 for the meal, so we had to use the 2 tables- kitchen and dining room. I did a big roast chicken, with toad in the hole, and loads of veg. We had a great laugh. Next morning woke up and suddenly realised I had forgotten to serve the dish of roast veg, we had all the roast potatoes and steamed veg, but I forgot I had left the other veggies roasting in pan after I got the chicken out. Doh!

Sunday was church in morning. Then home for quick lunch, then some more friends came round and dropped off a car, tea and cakes were taken, then our friend Nina, who had been over Sat night came back round. She brought us an anniversary present, A Silver Wedding Rose, they forgot it on Saturday.
Yes, it is my Silver anniversary today, 25 years! Hard to believe it. Where did the last 25 years go? And I think hubby has 25 cars in the drive at the moment, they certainly go up year by year too!

Stan did remember -I did get some flowers without having to prompt him, that is an achievment in it's self! Our treat to ourselves is to have a big Conservatory built, waiting for the planning to go through, but will be worth it, may not get the Holiday of a lifetime - had wanted to go to Canada but Stan not keen. The conservatory really does make up for the lack of travel. To sit in the warmth of the sun in winter will be so good, this cottage is so cold and so dark in winter. It will be such a joy. Can't wait!

Did I tell you my daughter and partner with baby are getting married on 8 March, only 2 weeks away now. Not allowed to go though, just them and their 2 witnesses and a photographer. But I hope we’ll have a big party in the summer to celebrate. We have bought an amazing dress off ebay, only £99 but it has been hand made and is stunning, fits her perfectly. Apparently the woman it was made for has put on weight and doesn't believe she will get down toan 8 again!

Hope you’re getting stronger by the day and I continue to pray for your recovery.


Lots of love and gentle hug ( don’t want to hurt you)

xxx

October Road Trip

Well, it might never have happened! I spent all day Saturday packing the Camper, bedding, food, water, tea, coffee, toilet roll, clothes, torches, dog stuff, everything but the kitchen sink.

I was waiting for hubby to come home and say he was ready to go.

4pm He's ready for the off, goes out to start the camper. It won't start. We all go back indoors. Nige has to change into his work clothes again and jack up the van, it's the Starter motor apparently, something come undone. Wait half an hour and he comes back and says it's fixed.

All pile into the camper and off we go.

First stop is dinner, bed and breakfast with our good friends in Reading. Have a wonderful evening, drink too much, don't slepp too well, though we do have lovely room in their house, they have foxes running over the flat roof intermittently through the night, this keeps me awake but Nige sleeps through it all.Didn't help that A told us about a ghost that rolls a barrell across the upper floor. There house is over 400 years old, so entitled to a few ghosts, but K said this noise was the foxes!

Sunday morning, rather hung over weheaded for Lechlade, a lovely Cotwolds Village at the head of the Thames. Great for Antique shops and a delightful Christmas shop.
We had booked ahead for a camp site at rear of a pub in the village. We were the only ones there. That night was a sharp frost. We sepnt evening in the pub and made our way back to the camper. Made our beds, Georgie up high, Nige & I on the double bed and dogs on floor ( Well Molly on bed). No heater in the van, we were freezing. made hot water bottles and had thick duvets and sleeping bags but sticking nose out caught your breath. Woke to frost on inside and outside of windows and one very cold daughter. We agreed she shoudl sleep down with us rest of week to keep warmer.

Monday we were near Bath, frosty start to night but woke to rain and much milder, so easier to cope.

Tuesday:Driving in long queues to Bath kept over heating, had to keep stopping to top up water.

Arrived in Wales and found our friends shop in Ammanford.


To be continued

Camper trip Oct half term

We're preparing to take the camper for another trip over half term.

It's going to be cold, apparently the heater isn't working! So will have to take loads of duvets , blankets and hot water bottles!

The plan is to leave Saturday afternoon and head to see our friends in Reading for the night. Then on to Lechlade, we love this place has lots of antique shops and an amazing Christmas shop. We'll camp at the pub there. Then on to Bath for the next night. Eventually arriving in S Wales on Tuesday to meet up with more friends. This time we'll stay in Travelodge, i'll be glad of a bath by then and cahnce to watch some TV. Another night we'll camp in the Gower and then head back home. Should be good fun -you think??

Camping in Norfolk

Whilst staying with parents in Dilham, decided to have a couple of nights camping in North Norfolk. We went to a camp site at Weybourne, nr Holt. The photo by sea is at Sheringham, where we had a lovely Fish & Chip supper.
First night went smoothly, but second night baby was awake most of night in their tent (we had camper and children had tents), turned out baby was very poorly , developed Chicken Pox later that week.

Bluebells 2010

Easter Walk

The FSW Easter Walk went very well, we had a lovely day for it, the sun was out , it didn't rain though was a bit breezey especially at the top of hill. Over 125 people were walking and many dogs!

Stan, E, G & I got down to Alfriston, in East Sussex for 10am, signed in and got a map, met a group of walkers from my church as well as many people I know from FSW & the diocese.


The first 4 miles were hard going as slow but steady incline up the hill to the top where the Long man of Wilmington is sited.
It was very blustery up there! We stopped in Wilmington, where refreshments were available. Wilmington is a very old village, the church is beautiful and in the church yard is a Yew tree that is over 1600 yrs old apparently, it is huge and all chained and supported to stop it falling over!.


The last 3 miles were downhill and on the flat so it felt much easier. We got back to Alfriston just before 1pm, so that was pretty good going. The dogs did well, Molly kept going more than Beth! It was Beth who started to flag a bit on the final part.

Bit achey this morning, but not too bad.

Baby sitting

I had the joy of baby sitting my little grandaughter yesterday, whilst the family went to see Alice in Wonderland.

Emilyn is over 5 months now, can't get my head round how quickly the time has gone. She is a proper little person now, takes an interest in everything. She is very active, shuffles across the floor on her back using her legs, and is beginning to crawl backwards.

She was really good for nana, so I'm looking forward to doing it again!

Miniture Iris

Forgot I planted these, such lovely little flower.

Gung Hey Fat Choy!

Happy Chinese New Year,

I've just found out I am an Ox- 1961
This is what it says about the Ox:
The Ox of Chinese Astrology is no bull in a china shop. Steadfast and solid, this powerful Sign is a born leader, being quite dependable and possessing an innate ability to achieve great things. Oxen tend to be plodding and methodical; they approach projects in the step-by-step manner that serves them best, and they never lose sight of their goal. They are tireless workers who are detail-oriented and believe in doing things right the first time. The world may perceive Oxen as being far too serious or incapable of loosening up. This sturdy sort is less than social by nature and tends to become introverted in a crowd. To make things worse, they can't be bothered with what other people think and prefer to do what makes them feel best. Behind that calm facade, though, lives an Ox who can feel hurt, lonely and unable to connect with others. Friends and family are a great source of comfort to this beast, even if they don't always understand what makes the Ox tick. As a lover, friend, family member or housemate, the Ox makes a wonderfully strong, tender and affectionate companion who is protective and always reliable. Out in the world, though, Oxen tend to be stubborn, dogmatic, my-way-or-the-highway kind of people who have no concept of when to back down. Oxen don't care to be pushed, especially since they think they're the good guys of the Chinese Zodiac. There is some truth to that theory, since the Ox is smart, trustworthy, caring and honorable. If you need honest, steady and unbiased advice, call on the Ox. A good lesson for mighty Oxen is to strive to overcome a judgmental nature that keeps them from getting close to others. If they can learn to value their own good qualities, they'll have more room in their hearts to invite others in.

I do think I'm solid and dependable, not a great leader though, I enjoy being sociable with people I know, but I do not like crowds of people , I'm not a social party mixer, so that is right, always prefer to be in the kitchen,serving drinks and food, rather than trying to talk to others I don't know.I wouldn't call myself stubborn or dogmatic. I'm the least judgemental person and very open to others and caring- so some points match other do not.

Interesting though

Valentine's Joy & disappointment

Valentine's as a child was always a fun event. Father Valentine wouldcome round after dark and knock on the door and leave little presents. Each time there was a knock at the door my sister and I would run to the door and open it, no one would be there, but we'd look down and there would be a little package one for each of us. This would go on for 6-7 times and each time there would be a small gift.

I don't know where this tradition started, I was brought up in Norfolk and many seem to do it there, but hardly any one I know down here in the South of England has ever heard of it.

I continued the tradition for my children and they loved it, now my daughter intends to carry it on with her daughter as she gets older.

As a teenager Valentine's was a dreaded date to avoid. I was a very romantic soul and used to day dream alot about romantic gestures that boys might make but never did. I never received any Valentine Cards, it was such a disappointment to get home from school and see that the post man had not delivered any cards, doubly so as my younger sister usually got some!

My hubby is not the most romantic either, he's the type that says I was going to get you some flowers today, but I didn't get chance to...........story of my life!

Wendy Cope sums it up well in her little poem

Some men never think of it
You did. You'd come along
And say you'd nearly brought me flowers
But something had gone wrong

The shop was closed. Or you had doubts -
The sort that minds like ours
Dream up incessantly. You thought
I might not want your flowers

It made me smile and hug you then.
Now I can only smile
But look, the flowers you nearly brought
Have lasted all this while.


I've given up on romance and go for the unconditional love I get from my dogs now!!

Look what I found hiding under the leaves!

I went out into the garden to tidy up some of the plants after all the snow had flattened them. Started moving the leaves on one bed and found all these little Snow drops peeping through at me! Lots of other bulbs beginning to shoot up too, one brave little daffodil is even in bud!

I know we're due for another cold spell and possibly more snow, but the Spring is getting nearer and it lifts my heart with joy!

A glimmer of Spring is in the air

My hyacinths are beginning to flower indoors.

My little luxury

For 24 years I had my faithful old Teasmade my sister gave it to us for a wedding present and it was a Godsend. Every day without fail it would wake me up at 6.15am with a pot of hot tea, it doesn't get much better than that!

Then on Christmas Eve just gone, it made the tea but then there was a burning smell and a funny noise. I had to unplug it and admit that it had come to the end of it's life. I was quite distressed. How would I cope with mornings in the future?

My hubby, Stan, not wanting to be the one to get out of bed to make the tea told me to go out and buy a new one . Easier said than done! Argos don't do them, nor do Debenhams or any of the dept stores I went into.

So for a week I had to wake up without alarm and go down stairs in the freezing cold to make the tea. This was fine during the Christmas holidays, but once schools went back I needed to have an alarm again.

So on to ebay, and there I found a list of new and vintage Teasmades! Wonderful!
I ordered a new one, it arrived 2 days later.

Here it is-



It's is so cool! We had a few hiccups first few days trying to get it right, so once it didn't go off, another time I was woken with tea thinking that night went very quickly, only to realise it was only Midnight and I'd only been in bed asleep for 2 hours! We'd had a power cut and I'd put clock right but forgot to check the alarm setting!

But now all is well and we are back to having a morning tea at 6.15am without fail.

I love my new Teasmade!! It is my little luxury.
What's your luxury item?