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