Ermmm...Merry Christmas, Happy New Year & probably a few Happy Birthdays!!

Well doesn't time fly when you're enjoying yourself!....and I have been enjoying my time at Uni soooo much....and then when there was a holiday it was Christmas, New Year, essays to write, an exam to revise for.....then reading, and reading and reading! And to be honest if I am on the computer I just want to research, research & research!!! So apologies everyone for the belated Christmas, New Year & Birthday wishes.......and truth be told I may well miss Easter...so Happy Easter to you all too!

I don't know why I suddenly had the urge to do a blog post....I think it was a mixture of having an email from a special blogpal mixed in with the desire to take a few photos. I went for a walk by the river...first time this year!...and found myself composing a blog post in my head as I took a few photos...so here goes.....

CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR: rather scarce photowise....must have been enjoying myself too much.......Mandy, Chris, Nicole & Chris's mum Edith came for Christmas dinner......I really enjoyed cooking it and their company. The only photo I can find is this one of Manda bringing in the Christmas Pudding (alight).....I love the look on her face!

NEW YEAR'S EVE: we all went to Leanne's......had such fun and a great buffet! Melissa has a Wii and I really enjoyed trying to play the bells.....Leanne is hooked on it and I managed to get a sneaky video of her & her friend Kim playing (please excuse the odd profanity)... a bit of trepidation here as this is the first time I've tried loading a video direct via blogger!




UNIVERSITY: all going well...I've surprised myself by getting grades ranging from 2.1+'s to a couple of 1='s. I was convinced that I'd failed my exam and was so suprised that I'd passed! When I reread my essay I thought...'I didn't even know I knew all this!'..lol

We had a couple of lectures called off because Uni was closed due to the snow...so have been playing catch up. It's already reading week/half term although we don't seem to have been back long! I would be finishing an essay about Poe's The Tell-tale Heart if I wasn't writing this post. The financial situation is terrible as a 'single' student without any children at home. My grant doesn't even cover my rent and council tax (yes I do still have to pay council tax)...but SOMEHOW I intend to get through the next few years & get my degree...not sure how yet.

We've had snow both before Christmas.....


and after......though not as much as many parts of the UK.

(that video still hasn't loaded....wonder if it's supposed to take this long!....think I'll go and have a cuppa)

Time for that walk by the river now........................one small step for mankind, one muddy trainer for Ruth.......
The ducks are out to play.....and these 'ugly ducklings' are starting to turn into......
.....swans...............

and some people are 'messing about on the river'....

or enjoying the tranquility.......

Time to 'paws' and enjoy the view....


you can see that the meadows had flooded......
My pet hate....LITTER.......part of a shopping trolley in the river...

and look how close the rubbish bin is to this litter by the bench!!!...it would have only taken seconds to use the bin!
A remnant of Summer frisbee playing....................

a remnant of Winter snow....

I remember when Mick & I used to collect molehill soil to fill our tubs....sweet memories....Back home in the garden now.......the snowdrops are beginning to bloom...
and the Iris.....
the daffodils started blooming three weeks later than last year!...
Well I must leave you and get back to my essay....I mustn't let my studies SLIDE!...
Till next time....whenever that may be....Be Happy, Stay Healthy & Keep Smiling.

THE BEST OF INTENTIONS!

SUNDAY...9A.M.

Right then...let's see... my History assignment is the first one due in. 'To what extent did the domestic ideology impact on the lives of Victorian men and women?' Ok I'll get all my books, handouts etc out and spend a few hours making a start on it. Then I must look through last week's Sociology handouts before our next tutorial tomorrow.

Think I'll make myself a coffee first......

The house seems quite warm today despite those grey skies outside...I'll have a walk down the garden while the kettle's boiling.......
Gosh that's mild for this time of year! It's really pleasant out here.......the pansies are looking cheery....
Oh and look......there are some patches of snowdrops dotted around the garden....

I love looking inside their nodding heads....look this one has wildlife in it...two bugs and a caterpillar.....can you see them?

I'm sure I heard a frog croaking...can't see one but can definitely hear it!

Ohhhhh it is nice out here.....maybe I'll sit on the bench and drink my coffee...THEN I'll get that assignment started......
Hmmmm..........I may just spend 5 minutes doing a bit of weeding........oh look this Grape Hyacinth (Muscari) is in flower....buds on the Daphne odorata too! I know it's a weed but the Celandine is so pretty.....and the perennial Candytuft is flowering too!

Well I never!......there are leaf buds starting to show on the hardy Fuchsia's..... and that cutting of Lady Boothby against the wall is in leaf!
Now is this a late Autumn Cyclamen or an early Spring one......
Would you believe it....a left over bedding Begonia in leaf and flower..........Like last year...Osteospernums and Narcissi in flower at the same time.... Still flowers on the Winter Jasmine..............Gosh there is quite a bit of weeding to do..... I may as well get my secateurs out and prune back some of the die-back on the roses.......I'll snip the old leaves off the Hellabores too as I see they are coming into bud.....I may cut back some of the ivy too.....it's kept growing all Winter..

Well I've completed filled the Brown Bin (garden waste)...good job they collect it this week! These garden bags are almost full too.....

3p.m.

I think I'd better call it a day now.......I'm feeling quite tired after all this fresh air.....feel a bit achy too.....think I'll have a nice long soak in the bath.... and I've not had lunch so may have an early dinner..........Plus I'm sure there was something I was meant to be doing today????

(take off outdoor shoes, wash hands, go into living room).........................

AGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!......I've not even started my assignment....everything's just as I left it!!!

and I've yet to read my Sociology handouts.........................oh dear......... well I must have that bath and cook some dinner....I'll get down to my studies after that.........

5.30p.m.

Ahhh...that feels better.......I've had a nice Radox bath, a nice dinner and even a glass of wine..........

I think I'd better read the Sociology handouts and make some notes on them before I start the History....................

6.30p.m.

Just glanced at the TV magazine....Antiques Roadshow starts at 7p.m., then the second episode of Lark Rise to Candleford and that's followed by the crime drama Messiah.....................I could really enjoy chilling out and watching some T.V........and it is a bit late in the day to start doing that assignment......my brain's never as alert in the evening......................I'll just do a quick blogpost about today and see how I feel then.................

7p.m.

BELATED NEW YEAR GREETINGS

First many thanks to all of you who have been leaving comments, sending emails and cards expressing good wishes and your concerns during my enforced non-computer weeks. I make no promises to catch up with all your blogs but will do my best to drop by now and again and do the odd post when I can. Many of the emotional, computer and financial issues from last year are overflowing into this year but things will improve given time I know....there are many in a worse position than I.

Christmas went well.....far better than I had expected. Steve, Lynn and Max (the dog) came for a weekend before Christmas.....we had a great time....they laden me with goodies!......sadly I didn't take many photos except this one of a contented Max...

Leanne and Co also spent a weekend here prior to Christmas. I also stayed a night with them when we went to see Mel singing in the choir at Colchester Castle......it was fabulous!!!

I went to Manda and Co's on Christmas Day and all was jolly and festive........plenty of food and wine! Chris's Mum was there too...... and Nicole enjoyed having her two Grandma's with her. We had so much fun playing with Nicole's new Wii.............great exercise too! We've also spent many fun hours playing Jenga....................it's addictiveThe lady in the pink stripes is my dear neighbour and friend Sue........she, Manda, Chris, Nicole and I have managed 34 moves without toppling the tower....our own personal record!!!

New Year's Eve I spent with my Father and Step-mother in Kent. My sister drove down from Scotland and picked me up......it's been a few years since my Father saw both his daughter's at the same time!...that's my younger sister in the top photos with our father.One thing I miss about living in Cornard is not being beside the sea.....................

I guess it's my alter-ego coming out in me.....

We've had no snow here....a few cold days but reasonably mild..........I've taken a few sky photos at home but nothing spectacular.......I was hoping I'd get a good sunrise in Kent but it was too cloudy. I've put away all the Christmas Decorations now...........the shelves look quite bear without all this....(the first photo in the collage is Mel dressed up in some of my spare tinsel)So with sweet memories of a Christmas past......................


it's time to move forward into 2008.................................the first daffodil is out in the garden...almost to the day that it was last year!Wishing health, weath and happiness to you all and peace to the World

"Opportunities, many times, are so small that we glimpse them not and yet they are often the seeds of great enterprises. Opportunities are also everywhere and so you must always let your hook be hanging. When you least expect it, a great fish will swim by."
~Og Mandino~