Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween-Blogging Boo and Are you a witch


To help me with today's post I got the Halloween button from Small Reflection

Now, this is how Blogging Boo will work. Go to as many friends as you want and tell them they've been "Booed". Have them link back to your blog to pick up their Halloween Treat (picture)! Tell them to "Boo" their friends. Then, put the picture in your side bar so everyone knows that you've already been "Booed".
So, are you scared yet!!?? Well, you better be!!! BOO!!!

One more time - the rules - short and sweet!
1. Take picture, put on sidebar
2. Tell people they have been booed
3. Link back to who booed you

It's getting quite late in the day so I don't want to put pressure on anyone but if you fancy doing this consider yourself well and truly Booed my friends.




You Are 30% Witch



It's unlikely that you're a witch. At least, no one thinks you are.

You may still be interested in witchcraft, but you're by no means a stereotypical witch.



While you don't seem all that witchy, people may think you're a bit weird.

You're definitely a little offbeat. No one really knows what to make of you sometimes.


I'm not much of a witch what about you!

I don't have any pictures to show you except the one I took of the pumpkin my grandson was preparing last week. My 2006 archive post shows some early pictures of my children and grandchildren enjoying Halloween.


Archives:
2007: Witty Weds 25

Archives:
2006: Halloween in New England

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Thursday, October 30, 2008

I'm home from the Emerald Isle.


I had a lovely week visiting my daughter and my grandchildren. They are live wires and the week went by in a flash. However, it's not long until Christmas when they will be coming here so I have something to look forward to.

Archives:
2007: London Bridges
Archives:
2006: Making the most of my Bramleys

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Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Witty Wednesday # 70


Even though I'm on holiday, I decided to post a joke so you could all get your weekly fix!

A young Woman from New York City


A young woman from New York City was driving through a remote part of Oklahoma when her car broke down.
An Indian came riding by on horseback and offered to give her a lift to a nearby town. She climbed up behind him on the horse and they rode off.
The ride into town was uneventful except that every few minutes the Indian would let out a loud whoop that echoed back from the surrounding hills.
When they arrived in Bartlesville, he let her off at the local Phillips 66 service station, yelled one final, "Yahoo!" and rode off.
"What did you do to get that Indian so excited?" asked the service station attendant.
"Nothing. I merely sat behind him on the horse, put my arms around his waist and held onto his saddle horn so I wouldn't fall off."
"Lady," the attendant said, "Indians ride bareback."


Archives:
2007: Fun Monday #39-I don't leave home without
Archives:
2006: Woodberry Common Shopping Mall

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Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Postcard from Dublin #3 Orphans

 

Sadly Beccy's neighbour died very suddenly a couple of weeks ago and she had two cats that Beccy is currently feeding twice a day. They have been used to sleeping in the garden shed but they are beginning to get used to Beccy and come running when she takes out the food. It was quite amusing the other morning when the clocks altered because they were prowling on the wall in Beccy's garden looking for her and meowing loudly. Both cats come from the same litter but I can't remember if they are both male nor can I remember their names and Beccy is out playing tennis so I can't ask her!
It would be lovely if they were not so timid because they are really rather nice looking cats.

Archives:
2007: Summertime Ends
Archives:
2006: It's not my birthday

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Monday, October 27, 2008

Postcard from Dublin #2

This afternoon we braved the cold wind to take a walk at Carrickgollogan. We had spectacular views from one of the hilltops and I will share some of these with you when I get home. Meanwhile this is a view of the Sugarloaf mountain, taken from where we parked the car. Below is a picture of Beccy, Dillon and Mollie all wrapped up against the cold.
 


Archives:
2007: Childhood book
Archives:
2006: Do you serve cocktails

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Sunday, October 26, 2008

Post card from Dublin

Just thought I would share a picture of my youngest grandson Ben hulling strawberries and doing his bit for the environment by using the compost bin. Beccy has him well trained!

The weather seems to have changed for the worst since I arrived here, it's much colder and has been raining quite a lot.

Yesterday we went to buy Mollie some school shoes. Well to be exact she wanted to exchange the ones her mother bought a couple of months back as she felt they were uncomfortable. Luckily she mentioned it before she wore them outside. The problem we had was that every pair of shoes she tried on didn't fit properly or they they didn't have them in her size. After much searching we did finally find a pair she liked that fitted her. You can imagine the relief!

While all this was going on Ben was more than a little bit bored so he chose McDonalds for lunch after which we took him to look at the new Hamley's Toy Shop that had just opened in Dundrum Shopping Centre. It would have been easy to spend a fortune and from the number of people shopping it certainly didn't look as though there was any evidence of a recession! Or maybe everyone was just looking like us!


Archives:
2007: Bog Frogs
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Thursday, October 23, 2008

My bags are packed.....


....by the time you read this I will be on my way to the airport for my flight to Dublin to see Beccy and the family. I will be away for a week but not sure if I will be allowed on the computer!! Hopefully I will have some photos to share when I get back.
Beccy lives close to this beach so I might get a nice bracing walk!

Archives:
2007: Happiness is..
Archives:
2006: What a waste of good marmite

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Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Witty Wednesday # 69 The prize and Divorced Barbie!


Thank you Daffy these made me laugh!

The Prize


John O'Reilly hoisted his beer and said, 'Here's to spending the rest of me life, between the legs of me wife!'.

That won him the top prize at the pub for the best toast of the night!

He went home and told his wife, Mary, 'I won the prize for the Best toast of the night.'

She said, 'Aye, did ye now. And what was your toast?'

John said, 'Here's to spending the rest of me life, sitting in church beside me wife.'

'Oh, that is very nice indeed, John!' Mary said.

The next day, Mary ran into one of John's drinking buddies on the street corner. The man chuckled leeringly and said, 'John won the prize the other night at the pub with a toast about you, Mary.'

She said, 'Aye, he told me, and I was a bit surprised myself. You know, he's only been there twice in the last four years. Once he fell asleep, and the other time I had to pull him by the ears to make him come.'

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The Divorced Barbie Doll

One day a father is on his way home and suddenly remembers that it's his daughter's birthday.

He pulls over to a Toy Shop and asks the sales person, 'How much for one of those Barbie's in the display window?'

The salesperson answers, 'Which one do you mean, Sir?

We have: Work Out Barbie for $19.95, Shopping Barbie for $19.95, Beach Barbie for $19.95, Disco Barbie for $19.95, Ballerina Barbie for $19.95, Astronaut Barbie for $19.95, Skater Barbie for $19.95, and Divorced Barbie for $265.95'.

The amazed father asks: 'It 's what?! Why is the Divorced Barbie $265.95 and the others only $19.95?'

The annoyed salesperson rolls her eyes, sighs, and answers: 'Sir..., Divorced Barbie comes with: Ken's Car, Ken's House, Ken's Boat, Ken's Furniture, Ken's Computer, one of Ken's Friends, and a key chain made with Ken's balls

If I've made you laugh I will be happy!

Archives:
2007: Fun Monday 38 Clothing-art

Archives:
2006: Leaf Peeping+ Boston

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Monday, October 20, 2008

Fun Monday # 87 or My Friday!



Sarah is our hostess for this week and this is the assignment she has chosen for us.

I would like you to take your camera (or your artistic talents!) on a day tour with you. I want to know where you go, what you get up to on a “normal” day (disclaimer - it doesn’t have to be “normal”!). All the details you would consider boring! You are free to make your FM posts as long or as short as you’d like!
I chose last Friday as my day. It was actually a beautiful sunny autumn day and the first thing I did was take the camera around the back garden for a few shots. Nothing remotely exciting there, my parsley is still growing well and one of the tortoises was peeping out of their house.
After this I had breakfast and a cup of coffee but decided not to bore you with photos. Now what I was expecting to happen was as you see in the photos below. My garage door was due to be replaced and then I was going to take my friend to Makro so that she could stock up on cat food and a few other things. What actually happened was the guys doing the job were running late and we went off to do the shopping; when we returned just over 2 hours later they had only just arrived. This meant the rest of my day was scuppered and I didn't go swimming as I always do on a Friday afternoon. Instead I stayed and made sure the men had drinks and that the job was done properly.
I managed to get a sneaky photo of Tina at the fish counter. As you can see our trolley is gradually filling up!
I bought one of these memory pillows (I chose a traditional shape) which are supposed to be very good support for the neck. I haven't tried it out yet because I'm letting it air to get rid of the chemical smell, which according to the label will take a fortnight. I wonder whether anyone has any experience of these pillows and it they really are any good!


I'm hoping to see others who lead much more exciting lives than mine!


Archives:
2007: Up up and away not today!

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Sunday, October 19, 2008

Working Weekend

I have been so busy this weekend doing some paid employment. Embee and I do this every year. So if there any English bloggers out their who have forgotten to post off their Electoral Registration forms spare a thought for those of us who are chasing them up and be nice to the person visiting you. We are only doing a job and we don't need abuse like I got yesterday from some chap who objected to having his name on the register! I didn't take it the heart and I let him have his little rant and I got his name so he will be on the Electoral Roll despite the fact he was adamant he hadn't ever filled in a form and had no intention of ever doing so!

My Blueberry bushes are such an amazingly beautiful red colour at the moment I thought I would share a photo. It reminded me of the colours of the trees I saw in New England a couple of years back.


PS I'm delighted that Andy Murray won the Madrid Masters Series
Archives:
2007: Autumn Walk

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Friday, October 17, 2008

I should be so lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky

I feel very privileged to be given one of these awards by my friend Swampy who has a wonderful sense of humour and is such a kind person, as any of you who follow her blog will know.

The pink ribbons are of course for Breast Cancer Awareness and this amazing lady is a survivor. In an effort to promote awareness and raise money for research she is offering to make a donation for every tribute made via this post. So if you have someone you would like to honour please take a look.

Archives:
2007: Witty Wednesday-23

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Thursday, October 16, 2008

Your Age by Eating Out

This was sent to me by a friend. You must do this it works!!!!!

YOUR AGE BY EATING OUT

Don't tell me your age; you probably would tell a falsehood anyway - but your waiter may know!

YOUR AGE BY DINER & RESTAURANT MATH

This is pretty neat

DON'T CHEAT BY SCROLLING DOWN FIRST!


It takes less than a minute. Work this out as you read

Be sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it out!

This is not one of those waste of time things, it's fun.


1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to

go out to eat.

(more than once but less than 10)

2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold)

3. Add 5

4. Multiply it by 50

5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1758...

If you haven't, add 1757.

6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.

You should have a three digit number


The first digit of this was your original number. ( I. e., How many times
you want to go out to restaurants in a week.)


The next two numbers are



YOUR AGE ! ------ (Oh YES, it is!)

Freaky huh.

THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2008) IT WILL EVER WORK, SO SPREAD IT AROUND WHILE IT LASTS


Archives:
2007: Men at Work

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Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Witty Wednesday # 68

Below is a picture of a badge that one of the daughters gave EmBee years ago. I noticed it pinned on his study wall and took a photo as it's quite amusing
The one below is also on display.

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Now some may not find this to your taste so you might not want to read on...it came from my friend Daffy and it made me laugh!



One day superman was feeling a bit horny so he asked some of his comic friends where he could 'get a bit of action' 'Hey Batman who's good in the sack'
'Well Superman, everyone knows that Wonder Woman is the best sex in comicland.
Why don't you try her?' replied Batman
'I'd love to, but Wonder Woman and I are friends.
So I don't really want to take advantage of her.'
'Damn shame.' said Batman as he waved goodbye to Superman and drove off. Ten minutes later he was flying over the city when he saw the Green Lantern.
'Hey Hal, I'm looking for a little action. You're a swinging bachelor, who's the best babe in comicland?'
'Hey, Superman! Everyone knows that Wonder Woman is far and away the best lay in comicland, why don't you try her?' 'Well were sorta friends,' Superman says 'but I didn't realise she'd been about so much' and he flew off in total frustration
Twenty minutes later Superman was flying over a field when he saw Wonder Woman lying naked, in the middle of the field, with her legs apart. Superman was tempted. He thought to himself, 'I'm faster than a speeding bullet, I can be in and out of there before she even knows I'm here.'
So with a blur and a sonic boom he was down, in and out and gone. Wonder Woman stared up into the sky with a dazed ___expression on her face 'What the hell was that??' she exclaimed.
'Beggered if I know,' said the Invisible Man as he rolled off, 'but my ass is killing me.'

I think I'll bow out now!

Archives:
2007: Fun Monday 37

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Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Corfu-Kerkyra # 4 Holiday Companions

No time to write a post so I am sharing a photo of some of the people (who were not shown in yesterday's Corfu photo). This was taken just before we went out to dinner. As you can see they are a happy group and they were very good company!


Archives:
2006/7: No Archives

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Monday, October 13, 2008

Details of Secret Ornament Exchange 2008


I don't know what is happening to me this is the second week that I have not joined in with Fun Monday # 87 and I am very disappointed in myself because,as I've said before, I have missed very few of these since they first began. Maybe I'll be back next week we'll see!
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In the meantime some of you may recall around this time last year Julie organised an ornament swap. It was so successful that she is organising another swap year. This is what she says:

By request, and because last year’s exchange was really fun, I am happy to announce the 2008 Secret Ornament Exchange!! Calling one and all to sign up to participate!

If you choose to participate you are agreeing to mail a NEW, STORE BOUGHT Christmas ornament to your assigned person. You can spend any amount you wish on the ornament but please send one you would proudly display on your own tree.

To sign up please send me an email (abbilyeverafterAThotmailDOTcom) with your name, site URL and standard mailing address. The deadline to enter is October 31. Please put “ornament swap” in the subject line.

By Nov. 7 I will email each participant with the name, site URL and mailing address of the person they are to mail an ornament to. I will only share your name/mailing address with the person assigned to mail to you.

All ornaments should be in the mail no later than December 1 - preferably sooner for any going to, or coming from, overseas. That way they should all arrive well before Christmas and after everyone’s trees are up!

Let’s see if we can increase the number of participants this year. Last year we had 38 swappers - hailing from 6 different countries and 12 different U.S. states. So sign up! Please feel free to post a note about this on your own blogs - all are welcome and the more the merrier!

I'm sure those who participated last year will be keen to do so again and anyone who didn't know about it might like to join in. All you need to do is let Julie know it would be lovely if we could help Julie increase the number of participants.

Another Corfu Picture
On my recent trip to Corfu there were a lot of people taking pictures of the group as we all met up for dinner one night. You will see that the camera is sitting on top of a bottle and had been pre-set. I thought as I was sitting behind the camera I was quite safe. But Mandy had managed to get a few sneaky photos of me and they arrived by email a couple of days ago. Good job I wasn't doing anything horrendous like picking my nose...oh and don't read too much into the fact there are so many empty bottles down this end of the table most of those are water; the small brown jugs held the wine!!!


Archives:
2007: Blog Day Action
Archives:
2006: No archive

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Sunday, October 12, 2008

A Sunday drive


By the time anyone is reading this we will be heading up the motorway to London! We aim to get there by mid morning and be home by mid afternoon wish us luck that everything goes according to plan!


Archives:
2007: Yolks on me
Archives:
2006: Leaving on a jet plane

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Saturday, October 11, 2008

Mezcal with agave worm!

I found this languishing at the back of one of my food cupboards. It must have been there many years because I think it must have been bought by Sam before she moved to the US!
I'm not sure that I would ever drink it but the quality of the alcohol must be good as the worm remains perfectly preserved. So what shall I do with it...put it back in the cupboard and forget it again....any suggestions!



Archives:
2007: Still looking for inspiration
Archives:
2006: Inspiration

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Friday, October 10, 2008

In remembrance....


Today I am remembering Sam's friend Sheena. It is a year ago today that we attended Sheena's funeral to say our goodbyes after she lost her brave battle fighting cancer. Her family, and in particular her husband and two young sons, are in my thoughts today. Sheena was much loved and she is greatly missed by all who knew her.


Archives:
2007: A Special Friendship
Archives:
2006: Apple Crumble

Labels:

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Corfu- flowers # 3

I'm sharing pictures of these very pretty flowers, that I saw in Corfu, in the hope that someone will be able to tell me their name. My friend thought they were a variety of alium and they also look like a trumpet lily but I have been searching google and not found a match. I was fascinated by the way they grew, and they looked really attractive, I couldn't stop taking photos.





Archives:
2007: Jonny did it
Archives:
2006: Tyntesfield House

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Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Witty Wednesday # 67


I have John to blame thank for all of this week's contributions!

C'est le geurre:

An elderly Italian man who lived on the outskirts of Rimini, Italy, went to the local church for confession.

When the priest slid open the panel in the confessional, The man said: 'Father .... During World War II, a beautiful Jewish woman from our neighbourhood knocked urgently on my door and asked me to hide her from the Nazis. So I hid her in my attic.'

The priest replied: 'That was a wonderful thing you did, and you have no need to confess that.'

'There is more to tell, Father... She started to repay me with sexual favours. This happened several times a week, and sometimes twice on Sundays.'

The priest said, 'That was a long time ago and by doing what you did, you placed the two of you in great danger. but two people under those circumstances can easily succumb to the weakness of the flesh. However, if you are truly sorry for your actions, you are indeed forgiven.'

'Thank you, Father. That's a great load off my mind. I do have one more question.'

'And what is that?' asked the priest.

'Should I tell her the war is over?''
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Rubber Gloves:

A dentist noticed that his next patient, a little old lady, was nervous so he decided to tell her a little joke as he put on his gloves.

'Do you know how they make these gloves?' he asked.

'No, I don't,' she replied.

'Well,' he spoofed, 'there's a building in Canada with a big tank of latex and workers of all hand sizes walk up to the tank, dip in their hands, let them dry, then peel off the gloves and throw them into boxes of the right size.'

She didn't crack a smile.

'Oh, well. I tried,' he thought.

But five minutes later, during a delicate portion of the procedure, she burst out laughing.

'What's so funny?' he asked

'I was just imagining how condoms are made!'

You have got to watch those little old ladies! Their minds are always Working!


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When Grandma Goes To Court Lawyers should never ask a Mississippi grandma a question if they aren't prepared for the answer.

In a trial, a Southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand. He approached her and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know me?' She responded, 'Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a boy, and frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you're a big shot when you haven't the brains to realize you'll never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.'

The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?'
She again replied, 'Why yes, I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. He's lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can't build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him.'

The defense attorney nearly died.

The judge asked both counselors to approach the bench and, in a very quiet voice, said,
'If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I'll send you both to the electric chair.'



Archives:
2007: Fun Monday-36
Archives:
2006: On a clear day

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Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Corfu-Kerkyra The New Fortress # 2

Today I'm sharing photos of my visit to the New Fortress. I took so many photos it was difficult to choose which ones to share. I'm probably posting far too many as it is, so hope you don't get bored.

From research-The New Fortress, also known as the Fortress of San Marco, was built by the Venetians near the Old Harbour of Corfu town between the years 1576 and 1645, shortly after the second great Turkish siege. The Italian military engineer Ferraute Vitteli was responsible for the work.
The fortress was a strong point in the town's defense. Its structure is a complicated network of chambers and galleries. The French and later the British completed the fortifications and the buildings of the fortress.
The entrance to the Fortress is approached up a flight of back street steps. On one side there are little cafés. On the other side of the street, there are little alleyways leading to houses, many having been turned into apartments.
You can see from these two photos that these alleys are very narrow and and the outlook is not always very appealing.
The view below is overlooking where the new marina will be built.
Looking down from the fortress is a better view of the park that is in front, and to the left of the hotel, where we stayed.
The mainland of Greece seen on the horizon was slightly misty on the day I took these photos.

This is the archway leading to a higher level of the fortress, where you get good views of the sea

As you climb higher you can get a 360 degree view.
The pictures above and below are to the rear of the fort. Where you see some of the ruins of the outer walls.
Unfortunately I didn't take any decent pictures inside the buildings as the lighting was not so good.
Below you can see across the rooftops of the town buildings and in between are numerous narrow streets, many lined with small shops and restaurants.
From the top of new fortress you can look across the city and see the Old Fortress, and I'll show you more of that visit later in the week.



Archives:
2007: Pussy cat Pussy cat where have I been
Archives:
2006: I never knew that

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