Its my birthday and I'll do what I want to

It's my birthday .....another year closer to 50 eeekk

I woke up late to a quiet house. On my laptop there were some birthday wishes waiting for me on facebook including one from Vi who said my ears should have been burning in my dreas becasue she has been lucky enough to meet nitebyrd and Mulder on her holiday in USA. Now if I had been keeping up with my blog reading I would have known this as both Vi and Nitebyrd had blogged that they would meet. I am so jealous Vi is such a lovely lovely woman who I have had the pleasure of meeting 3 or 4 times. Nitebyrd I would love to meet and Mulder of course during his brief spell of blogging I teased relentlessly and would do now if he was still blogging. Anyway I am glad that they all got to meet and I shall look forward to hearing all about it ...........you guys have got my email address if you don't want to tell me in public.

I was just thinking about running a bath to get ready for meeting my mum for lunch. My phone alert went off it was a birthday greting from Karma.......wow I didn't expect that. We exchanged text a few weeks ago when we had almost bumped into each other at the Dr's carpark. But other wise we had not had contact for months. I didn't even think he knew when my birthday is. I can only assume that he had seen it on facebook (we are friends but I don't think he ever goes on there.......even less than firebyrd). So I text him back thanks and this is a nice suprise.......cheeky man replied didn't I know it was my birthday.

Yesterday when I was chatting online to Golf I had asked him for suggestions about where mum & I could for lunch today.......He suggested a waterside pub that he knows. If I was then free at a reasonable time we could meet up after lunch. It has been a long time since I last saw him and don't now have his phone number. He said he will text me.
Before I set off for lunch with mum I asked Marmie if she would recomend the pub Golf had suggested, but she mentioned another pub within yards of the first one. We followed Marmie's advice but parking was a problem. I had to drop mum off and go off to find somewhere to park (like looking for a needle in the proverbial haystack). I'm sure she was beginning to think she had been abandoned. It was at the pub that mum gave me my birthday card, I did have to laugh, not only is it so right for me but also identical to the one I got from my colleagues at work on Friday.

I have only received 2 cards at the moment and they are the same .........obviously I am predictable.

I was sitting chatting to mum at her dinning table back at her house when I got a text ..........happy birthday.........there was no name just an unknown number. I wasn't sure but I guessed it could be Golf. The next text asked if I had had a good lunch .........now I knew it was Golf. He was in his office in the city but about to go home to pack for a business trip to Egypt, we could meet on his way home. I told him I would be admiring the view of the city from a car park. I didn't say which one.

I drove up onto the hill glancing at the first couple of car parks for his car. He had sent me a further two text by then but my phone was playing up so I couldn't read them. I was just thinking about one of the car parks that had a slightly higher view point than others but decided to go to the car park where we last met last summer. I had just passed the turning when I saw his car coming towards me and turn into the car park I had rejected. I carried on until I could turn. Parking up next to his car I checked my phone again ....still not able to read my messages. He was quite bemused that I had found him as we hadn't agreed a place to meet. We chatted for a while and agreed to meet for a drink once he is back from his trip.

When I got home the boys were all awake (so they should be at 5pm on a sunday) and had cleared the kitchen and the livingroom.....not great but a big improvement. This evening I am going out for a drink with Sailor.

Highs and Lows

After a bad start to my birthday it did improve a little, whilst I was driving home from shopping (my mundane life doesn't stop for something as simple as birthday) I got a text. It was from Bovril (married man). He was going out for a while would I like to catch up? So 40 minutes later I parked up in the same old car park. He must have seen me drive up as he was very quick to climb into my passenger seat. I hadn't seen Bovril since New Years Eve 2007 so although we have chatted online in the last month we still had a lot of catching up to do. (just small talk really). We probably chatted for about half an hour before we both drove off in different directions. So that was date 1 with Bovril 10/80 in total.



Once back home I changed into some fresh clothes as I was going to dinner with my mum. She had cooked salmon steaks which I have not had for years. I got 3 books some money and my 2nd birthday card (the 1st was from work). I didn't stay very late as I was feeling weary and knew I had to be up early next day to drive to Cotswolds.



After stopping on the way to get some provisions from a farm shop we finally arrived at my grandmother's home about 12.30pm. Greetings over, kettle boiled and decisions made about what to cook for lunch we were able to relax briefly. We gathered that my grandmother's best friend was coming over in the afternoon (she arrived just as we were finishing our meal). So the four of us sat around the table for the next hour. Angie delighted in showing us some of her craftwork including various items of beadwork. She also took the opportunity (while grandmother was out of the room) to swap address and phone numbers with mum.



My mum and my cousin (my dad's cousin) have both been getting increasingly worried about grandmother, Angie has too. It seems that the one person who should be most concerned (but isn't) is my Aunt. She lives in Germany and doesn't seem to think there is any need to worry about her mother. Apparently she was cross when she visited at New Year because her mother looks much younger than 90.



Over the last few years my grandmother (she doesn't have altzeimers) has been having increasing problems with saying nouns. People, places objects all escape her. For the two days we were there I was 'this one' my aunt was 'the one married to the german' Angie was 'the one who lives in that place where I lived before'. She was trying to say something about the place my grandfather was buried 15 yrs ago, she could give directions but not name the place or the roads.



She did tell us that she wouldn't mind giving up driving now. Mum has left a folder of information for my aunt regarding help her mother could get from Help The Aged. She could have someone to take her shopping or medical appointments etc. This business with her speech is both a little amusing but also frustrating (although when she is typing on her computer the names etc come with no problem). She was trying to explain something about her money and a man. We managed to work out that she knows this man but he doesn't work at the place where she gets her money (bank) but he did something with her money but it isn't working so its stopped now and hes getting her money back for her. We think hes a retired finacial advisor who invested her savings for her but with the current situation is cashing in her money before the losses get any worse.



On Monday morning I drove us out to a Farm shop/cafe that they have visited in the past for an early lunch, the sun came out which was nice after Sunday's drizzle, the view across the valley was stunning. We got back to the bungalow at 2pm but instead of going home as I had thought there was more chat, I was becoming tired and worried about driving home. But when we left at 4pm I was ok. I jokingly said I would have us home by 6.15pm (it would be nearer 7pm with me driving or 8pm with mother driving). I don't think I was driving particularly fast but we were back at my place at 6.20pm.



The next few days are a bit of a blur except that on wednesday I got a text from Plumber saying that hes got me a slimline dishwasher. One night when we were out I had mentioned that eventually when I can afford it I want to get a slimline dishwasher to go under my sink drainer. One of his mates is having a completely new kitchen fitted and he is helping him. He has asked his mate who has said I can have it. yayyyyyyyyyy



Thursday was a busy day, Not only did my bedroom window get fixed (I had been told back in November when it was measured up, that it would be done before xmas!!) I can now close my bedroom window for the first time in about 5 or 6 years, (I did originally ask for it to be fixed 3 yrs ago after SF moved out). But on the same day a heating engineer came out to survey the house to find a suitable place to put a new boiler as my Baxi boiler is finally being replaced. (18 months after the engineer had recommended it needed replacing). Apparently according to OJ (I wasn't there) the new boiler needs to go on an outside wall ................all my outside walls are taken up with windows!! The engineer will also need the airing cupboard empty and half the radiators accessible. Not sure what he means by that as only one of the ones mentioned are not currently easily accessible.



I wasn't there for the survey because I had left work early to go to our local Premier League Football ground. There was a presentation being held in one of their hospitality rooms for ET's Princes Trust group. It was an entertaining time with each member of the group describing part of the course and also giving their personal statement about why they had joined and what they had got from it. I was very proud of my boy for being able to speak out clearly and appearing to be more confident than he was. At the end two of the lads dressed up as Sonny and Cher to sing to us.



On friday morning although I was fine when I got up by the time I was driving to work my eyes were very tired and I wanted to go to sleep as soon as I arrived in the office. It took me until lunch time to be fully awake but still weary. As I was leaving work DC text asking if I would be available to pick him up from work at 9pm (if I was awake I would). I was resting on my bed when Bovril began texting me so I turned my comuter on and chatted to him. He was at a loose end and did I fancy a burger up on the hill. The kids were sorted for their dinner and I hadn't decided on mine so I agreed to meet him at the pub for a quick drink. we sat in my car chatting for a while before I suggested that we realy did go inside for a drink. Fruit juice all round then DC text me ........ wake up :-) ..................so we only managed half an hour before I had to leave.
So that was date 2 with Bovril which is 11/80 in total so far.

Out with Plumber again

Did I mention that when I started seeing these new men I set up a new IM address. A couple of weeks ago I put up a message about my birthday being over Easter. Plumber suggested that he would take me out over the weekend. During the week he told me he would take Friday off from working so that he could take me to Chichester to see the shops and other sights of the city. So my 6th date with Plumber was spent walking around in the rain on Good Friday.

Plumber collected me at 9.15am (no bank holiday lie in for me). We drove off in the rain hoping that the sun would come out eventually. Arriving in the city we began to worry about the lack of shoppers.............perhaps being a Bank Holiday the shops were not open. But by the time we reached the Cathederal the clock was striking 10.00am shopers began to appear from all directions. We wandered around the big department store for a while before heading off for other smaller shops. Plumber treated himself to a new big brolly and I bought my boys some alternative Easter Eggs (football socks & goalie gloves). Next it was M & S which was when I got the giggles. Whilst I was browsing Plumber took a phone call from a customer. I couldn't help giggling at him talking business, pretending to be really busy when he was really wandering around between racks of bras and knickers.

We wandered up and down the streets trying to keep dry but not really seeing much from under his brolly. We stopped for refreshments in a vegetarian cafe. The cakes looked very scrumptous but we managed to resist. Once we were back out in the rain Plumber was very keen to show me something he had discovered recently. We had accidentally timed our arrival at the Cathederal to coincide with the worshipers departure from their service. We saw several people dressed in robes so guessed there had been some acting going on. Walking passed these people we made our way through the cloisters emerging at the rear of the cathederal beside the Bishops Palace. Here he revealed his suprise, the Bishop's Garden.

By this time I was tired of walking in the rain and we made our way back to the car park. We decided to find somewhere for lunch. Soon we were back on the motorway heading west, I was beginning to think we were going home but we drove on past our town until we reached jnct 7 and wound our way along country lanes. We spotted several pairs of pheasants pretending they own the road.

Finally we reached our destination a country pub in Durley. We had a lovely meal in very pleasant surroundings. I am certainly discovering lots of lovely country pubs that I hadn't been to before.

I'm off to a family wedding now, but will post some photos from my day out, once I have returned.