A Good Start to the New Year

26th January 2012
It’s been rather quiet these past few weeks.  This week the news is  dominated by  the cruise ship disaster as there are many still missing and  bodies are being retrieved daily from the sunken hold of the ship. Various stories are circulating about the  unbelievable behaviour of the  Costa Captain, but I expect we will have to wait  to find out the truth as to how such a disaster happened.

Feeling much better  and quite energetic after starting my  Korean Ginseng and returning to the gym. I  take a 1000mg capsule daily  for a two to three months each winter it really does pep me up. I always take daily vitamins and omega oils but  need these extra minerals during the  winter months, Ginseng  known as the panacea of life  works for me..
     


So I have been spring cleaning all through the house . Taking `stuff ` to the  Recycle Depot that Bolton now has. All the local sites had been closed and centralized in this one site, I was very impressed by the organisation at the site and will have no fear in going again.. Reluctantly dropped off clothes that don’t fit well or are out of favour  at the local Charity Shop and other stuff I have replaced but are still very useful ..  it was a busy week but very satisfying a good start to the New Year.
Friday last week I was invited  out to dinner by a new friend who I met at the Library and we where joined by her sister and neighbour. It was an enjoyable evening with constant conversation and much humour ,except for the meal.  The establishment,  now a Posh Pub that used to be the village local once excelled at serving tasty Meat Pie and Mushy Peas.  I have fond  memories of this place full of life and laughter, not so now …. far to posh and the meal, minuscule and belied its description on the menu.  I did send word to the kitchen that I was disappointed with my choice and could have changed but as I was with new friends who lived in the village felt it could present a problem for them. So I backed off,  as we had received a complimentary  bottle of red wine on arrival….some things you just have to do.

My latest indulgence is an SonicView android tablet. I felt the need for a challenge, this comes over me now and again so I started to review them. I handled so many and nearly opted for the  Sony I-Pad because it was thin, light and very popular. But no, I don’t play games only occasional card /word games and jigsaws online, so the powerful  I-Pad was over-spec. for my needs and this reflected in the price. So I was delighted to find the Sonic View-Pad 10e which is not only very similar to the  thin and light I-Pad it has all the Spec and Google Android system for almost half the cost.. Now I the challenge is to learn how to use it as its so different than the Computer.……. one week on I love it.

Travelled into  Manchester Thursday to see the Stage Musical Oliver by Lionel Bart. Its such a standard musical, I love all the songs and its years since I saw the movie and I wasn’t disappointed, everything was   brilliant. I went with my friends Betty and  her daughter Lucy we had great seats. Afterwards  had excellent Pizza at a local Pizzeria,  a superb ending to a delightful day.
You should all know what song I chose from  Oliver

   
I have been enjoying a BBC drama that is taking me back to my previous life as a Community Midwife. It is an emotional journey for me, a mixture of smiles and tears but so endearing. Even now I am filling up remembering all those mothers and babies who touched my life and gave me a total job satisfaction,it was a true  privilege.
Read the first few chapters of  the book   “ Call The Midwife” by Jenifer Worth

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2091462/SANDRA-PARSONS-TV-midwives-cruel-betrayal-single-mums.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14859228
The acute shortage of Midwives still needs to be rectified today.
 

Happiness

My Poem for the New Year

ONE HAPPINESS SCATTERS A THOUSAND SORROWS

Happiness is a true measure of life.

It is contagious and speaks volumes

Banishes dark imaginings,

Brightens skies and lifts the soul.

Life revolves around seconds of experience.

Be in control

Fill your eyes with  wonder and surprise.

Listen only to the sounds that 

Make  fear and disappointment  disappear.

Dismiss the things that hurt ; 

Words of hate, pain and sorrow,

Look toward tomorrow

Lift  heavy hearts, find good in all things,

No matter how little.

The world is full of  miracles.

We are, the miracle of life,

We have the power to change 

Attitudes and rituals

That keep us in chains. 

Change what can be changed. 

Control is in your hands.

See the beauty, see the love

And set it free. 

ValCook  2012  

14th January 2012

Finally got back into my  usual routine, walking using the bus and attending the gym. I am thinking of going swimming, once I get my head around the thought  and I am still on the bike. It took me a few weeks to get my mojo back, had to  finish the chocolates and the bits and bobs left over from Christmas,though I had to pace myself, thankfully the cupboard is  now bare and I am shopping for healthier food.

Today is my first born son’s birthday, he is a good son but I am not prepared to divulge his age as it will only reflect on me and I am reluctant to go there, my inner spirit tells me I am still a spring chicken.  Haha

January 6th I started a new post as Computer Mentor for a group at a local Residential Home. Its just two hours Friday afternoons, I still volunteer at the Library and will be moving to another site, as our’s will be closing soon. Due to the financial cuts five Libraries are to be closed down in the next two months, its  going to affect mainly pensioners and young families who regularly use the  local libraries and are not as mobile as others, it’s so wrong.

I spent the day watching all three  “ The Godfather”  Movies, back to back.   I had recorded them last year and was saving them for a marathon session . It’s years since I saw it last and I was equally delighted the second time around, it was well worth the  11 hours viewing.  I have quite a few classic movies lined up for this winter’s snow storms but up till now we have not had any.  But give it time, it sometimes snows on my birthday in February..

Breaking news today a recently built  cruise ship the Costa - Concordia has run aground today  in the Mediterranean its on its side 4,500 people on board and many are missing, people likened it to the Titanic disaster. I go cold when I think of it as I am not a  happy sailor. God bless them all.
My son was a Sailor in the Royal Navy for seven years and I felt quite ill sometimes thinking of him being at sea.

Happy New Year

4th January 2012

Well another year  has flown by so very fast its rather unsettling , but I am feeling quite optimistic about 2012 I am sure it's going to be a good year in spite of all the doom and despair we read about in the press.I pray for world  peace, financial stability and the return of real summer weather.   Curiously our weather has been very mild for this time of year and in some areas the spring bulbs have pushed through. We did have an occasional frosting of snow earlier in December but Christmas was warmer in the UK  than some continental cities. My central heating was a problem for a while during Christmas the thermostats’ on the radiators would not turn down, three of them were on full blast. It was either  tropical or freezing  as I switched the boiler on and off in my attempt to control the temperature in the house.  I was so relieved when the engineer came and replaced the faulty gauges.  Since then we have had more torrential rain and exceptionally high winds that have caused a great deal of damage around the country again.  

Christmas was a series of spontaneous events. Christmas Eve Andy’s car was off the road with a broken front spring and busted tire, he was not injured  more inconvenienced than anything. He went to work on his bicycle which  took time and effort but he made it. Its now back on the road  at a price !….
So Christmas Eve I collected both Andy and Ryan and they came  to tea, we had a lovely visit..
Christmas day I knew I would be on my own, so I decided to help out at a local church who were providing Christmas Dinner for their OAP , it was different..  then spent a quiet evening watching a movie’ Sophie’s Choice’ with Meryl Streep and Kelvin Kline.   Boxing Day I cooked my Christmas Dinner opened a bottle of wine and watched Young Victoria on the TV.
Managed a good walk during the week and as the weather was quite pleasant I decided to go up to Knaresborough Wednesday to catch up with the family. It was a lovely drive, the sun was shining and out of town the roads where clear. We spent a quiet afternoon, me just  enjoying being with family.    New Year’s Eve was quiet too for me, I have never been a party girl and over the years have tended to avoid crowds and  parties.  I  downloaded a couple of Henning Mankell`s novels to my Kindle so I was in good company most of the day and  in bed before midnight, soon asleep in spite of the noisy fireworks that started earlier in the evening and lit up the skies.
I received sad news on  New Years Day, my cousin in the USA had died, she was in her nineties and even though she had been ill for a  long time it was still unexpected.  She was very special ,a GI Bride who followed her Guy over to the USA after the war, made her home and raised a family in Montana. She always kept in touch with me through the years and visited Bolton as often as she could. In the late seventies I was able to take my husband and children over  there to  attend her  youngest daughter’s wedding an exciting adventure for us all.  Since then we have been over to Montana many time on visits, travelling through much of the USA. Its a very special place totally awesome.
        

Many Glacier National Park Montana

Rocky Mountain Dream

Butte Montana is our second home.

A place on earth where we can roam

Through snowy peaked mountains over grassy plains,

Where the spirit of adventure soon enters your veins.

Breathing in the mountains clear crisp air of creation,

You discover that the earth is but one great nation.

Looking up into the blue Montana skies

As rivers fill lakes, that mirror your eyes.

Lewis and Clarke intrepid explorers

Discovered this tough wild wilderness for us.

Flathead, Glacier Beaverhead and Gallitan.

Wonderful areas of adventure for man.

For fishing and hunting the stars are your guide.

The freedom you feel is released from inside.

There`s Moose and Elk shot with permission,

To see them complete with rack is truly a vision.

But beware of the bear and the Buffalo who roam,

Through forests and plains that are really their home.

But to ride the white water and swim in the lakes,

To take a boat ride through the Rocky Mountain`s gates,

Is a privilege we must not ignore.

To obey the rules of that we are sure.

No litter or fires, and stay on the track,

If you want to make sure you will ever get back.

The people are warm they are loving and giving

Their hearts are as big as the land that they live in.

We travel the miles to recapture a dream

To sit on the deck and drink in the scene

Of the beautiful mountains and highlands of Montana.

VCook 2006