three things

erm, maybe four or five actually

1. having recently discovered/been made aware that I may experience/be suffering from sustained bruxism (it seems that I am a daytime jaw clencher rather than a nighttime teeth grinder) I am now at a bit of a loss for what to do about it

2. one of the cats has been acting very strangely Mini-Teen wants me to take him to the vets to see if there's something wrong but as I don't believe in spending shed loads of money I don't have on a feline pet I haven't yet followed this course of action and now am at a bit of a loss for that to do about it

3. my big brother sent me a very generous Amazon voucher for xmas last year and I invested some of it in the purchase of a new sewing machine, since the one I had - which was my mother's - had finally broken beyond all hope of repair; I have a pile of projects that I'm really keen to start and lots of ideas for other projects, but I can't seem to be able to even take the new machine out of the box; I'm totally bemused about this situation and have no clue why I have a bit of a block about it and at more of a loss about this than the other things that are bothering me

4. for some strange reason I have been starting to wonder about what I shall do in five years' time when all the children have flown the nest (and presuming none of them has flown back again); I haven't a clue, which is a worse situation than being at a bit of a loss about what to do5. oh! it seems as if there were only four after all (well, only four that I'm going to bother you with, dear reader)

what would you think if I sang out of tune,
would you stand up and walk out on me?
lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song
and I'll try not to sing out of key
oh I get by with a little help from my friends
do you need anybody? I need somebody to love
could it be anybody? I want somebody to love
what do I do when my love is away?
does it worry you to be alone
how do I feel by the end of the day?
are you sad because you're on your own
no, I get by with a little help from my friends
would you believe in a love at first sight?
yes I'm certain that it happens all the time
what do you see when you turn out the light?
I can't tell you, but I know it's mine
oh, I get by with a little help from my friend

THE FAB FOUR

over to you

epitaph for a housewife

I saw the strangest thing today I was walking along the high street, in my usual meandering fashion. . . not really paying attention to anything much apart from possibly the traffic on the road and all the people who were annoying me on the pavements - the mothers with prams the size of HGVs who insist on shopping in packs and thus take up the whole width and more than two or three depths of walking space, the old people zigzagging back and forth in front of me making it impossible for me to overtake them and when I did almost suceed they try and trip me up with their shopping trolley thingies, the large groups of non-indigenous people chattering away in their own languages and not hearing or listening to my polite native English "excuse me"s, the young people - surely young enough to have been at school, so why weren't they there I ask you? - who are just generally rather insolent and uncaring about other inhabitants on the planet. . .

.

. . .get the picture or shall I continue ranting for a while longer. . .
.

. . .and suddenly I noticed amongst the traffic, a funeral cortege
.

on the high street!

.
say what?

.
yup - a white glass sided carriage, as would have befitted Snow White herself drawn by two white horses with plumes on their heads, within which was the coffin, every surface adorned with beautiful floral wreaths (one reading ANGEL and one reading MUM and the others being circular); followed by three enourmous black limosines, also decked out with more wreaths, the first of which had girls sobbing at the windows. . . it felt a little strange to me so much public awareness of their grief, but then since I don't know who the departed lady was I don't know what sort of send off would befit her
.

I was kinda jealous. . . those girls were surely grieving in a very efficient manner (if you know what I mean) - whereas when my mother died I don't think I was really given the opportunity to grieve and I certainly didn't realise that the choice was mine
.

anyhoo a little later I was looking thru one of my poetry books (found one I want to share, but can't track it down on the net so you'll have to bear with me while I type it up rather than copying 'n' pasting) and found this
.

here lies a poor woman who was always tired
she lived in a house where help wasn't hired
her last words on earth were "dear friends I am going
to where there's no cooking or washing or sewing
for everything there is exact to my wishes
for where they don't eat there's no washing of dishes
I'll be where loud anthems will always be ringing
but having no voice, I'll be quit of the singing
don't mourn for me now, don't mourn for me never
I'm going to do nothing for ever and ever"

ANON

FRAN HEALY

on the other hand. . .

I has some post!

the lovely sorrow sent me a card
the caption reads:

IF you were
REALLY
an enchanted tree,
you'd grow
CHOCOLATE and
DOUBLE EXPRESSOS.

(-:

days and days and days and days and

I've had this toon on my brain for days and days it reminds me of Shhhhhhhhh by that Icelandic chick, Bjork, but I know nothing about this artist so I don't know why that it is! (the breathy quality to her voice possibly?) all I know is that I keep singing it over and over and over and over and over and over and now it's your turn!! images later, but right now I need to get out in the first sunshine we've had in a week. . .

have a great day you!

(-:

I'm just a little bit caught in the middle,
life is a maze and love is a riddle, I don't know where to go,
I can't do it alone (I've tried) and I don't know why
slow it down make it stop or else my heart is going to pop
'cuz it's too much, yeah, it's a lot to be something I'm not
I'm a fool out of love 'cuz I just can't get enough
I am just a little girl lost in the moment
I'm so scared but don't show it
I can't figure it ou,t it's bringing me down
I know I've got to let it go and just enjoy the show
the sun is hot in the sky just like a giant spotlight
the people follow the sign and synchronize in time
it's a joke: nobody knows they've got a ticket to that show
dum de dum dudum de dum just enjoy the show
dum de dum dudum de dum just enjoy the show
I want my money back I want my money back
I want my money back just enjoy the show
I want my money back I want my money back
I want my money back just enjoy the show
.

LADY LENKA

I see. . .

did you know that the other night was the first super harvest moon in 20 years? it's "a phenomenon that occurs when the autumn equinox (when day and night are of equal length and summer moves into winter) coincides with a full moon in the northern hemisphere; NASA tells us to expect the result to be a kind of 360 degree twilight glow as the sun sinks in the west and the moon rises in the east". . .
.

there you go then! quite the opposite of the toon that popped into my head. . .

.
I see the bad moon arising, I see trouble on the way
I see earthquakes and lightning, I see bad times today
I hear hurricanes a-blowing, I know the end is coming soon
I fear rivers over flowing, I hear the voice of rage and ruin
hope you got your things together, hope you are quite prepared to die
looks like we're in for nasty weather, one eye is taken for an eye
don't go around tonight, well, it's bound to take your life
there's a bad moon on the rise

CREDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL

ok, coffee at the ready?

yup! well, here we go. . .

. . .I've recently discovered what my little brother (who lives in Dubai) spends some of his time doing. . . watch this!! (I think he only created the video, I suspect he didn't have anything to do with the fountains - more's the pity); however, more about him later and in the meantime enjoy your coffee time this morning

(-:

as I walk away I look over my shoulder
to see what I'm leaving behind
pieces of puzzles and wishes on eyelashes fail
oh, how do I show all the love inside my heart?
for this is all new
and I'm feeling my way through the dark
I used to talk with honest conviction of how I predicted my world
I'm gonna leave it to stargazers, tell me what your telescope says

oh, what is in store for me now?
it's coming apart, I know that its true
'cos I'm feeling my way through the darktrying to find a light on somewhere
I'm finding I'm falling in love with the dark over here

oh, what do I know,
I don't care where I start for my troubles are few
as I'm feeling my way through the dark
.

KT TUNSTALL

up in the air

I love photography, you know that already I really love aerial photography - it reveals things that sometimes pass us by at ground level. . . I love the shapes that are revealed what could be better than a perfect circle? how about a crop circle heart! now, what could be better than that? how about an orchard heart! and what about an amazing maze. . .. . .or a blue field? (it's linseed, apparently)

. . .or a Welsh pit pony (complete with hoof prints!) and, however clever those are, there is something very satisfying about a simple harvest. . .(there is a new exhibition, currently in Bath, put on by the Royal Geographical Society, Britain From The Air - I bet that's a good way to spend an hour or two) oh, one more thing. . .

. . .who says that country folks get all the fun?

if this is a ghetto, I'm in it with you
if it's just a prison, I'm locked in it too
I tried to leave you, but after all that we had said
I went to pieces

when I should have shouted and screamed instead

'so sorry', I said

your powers of persuasion, those quizzical eyes
have tired and tied me, with innocent guile
I would have walked out, and after all the tears we shed
I should have stalked out, gone and painted the town bright red
but instead 'so sorry', I said

how tough it gets, don't talk to me about it!
to pay off your debts, I worked on overtime
and you say you never believed in luck

if you need a reason, consider me mad
an old retainer, loyal and sad
I bought my freedom, but after all that we had shared
I couldn't leave you think of the skins I'd have to shed
instead, 'so sorry', I said

THE MOST LUSCIOUS AND AMAZING

MS LIZA MINNELLI

beans, beans, good for the heart

last night I had some beans for dinnerbroad beans we call them here but some folks call them fava I believe

I popped them out of the pod personally - can I just say that they were truly yummy? I think I just did!

so, while the plumber puts in the new washing machine (yeah! I have a new washing machine) he breaks the tumble dryer (boo! the tumble dryer's broken) and as all that happens, I spend a few moments searching the www for beautiful things to bring a smile to my wrinkled frowning face. . . and I end up in one of my favourite places: Avoca, Eireadmiring the button plates. . .

(-:

nature is made better by no man but nature makes that man;
so over that art which you say adds to nature,

is an art that nature makes. . .

. . .the art itself is nature
.

SHAKESPEARE: A Winter's Tale
.

"From its conception back in the 1860s, Mount Usher has pursued a naturalistic approach to planting and landscaping, a style which is often referred to as 'Robinsonian', after Irishman William Robinson (1838 - 1935).

"'This is an art which does mend nature, change it rather: but The art itself is nature.' Robinson used this line from Shakespeare as a motto and as a guiding principle in his work. One of horticulture's great writers and innovators, he revolutionized the way we think about gardens. As a reaction against showy Victorian formality, instead Robinson advocated using permanent planting rather than bedding plants and believed in achieving an apparently informal garden experience by mixing native and exotic plants."

.
The Avoca Garden

*sigh*

you know how, everynowandagain, you have those really tricky days - that turn into a couple of days, and then a few days. . . fingers crosses that they don't run into a week

it's so tiring

:-/

still! have to think of those cheering up things, eh?

(-:

(yup - you guessed it: you're one of them)(yes, you!)

Birds flying high you know how I feelSun in the sky you know how I feelBreeze driftin' on by you know how I feelIt's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life, for me
And I'm feeling. . .

Fish in the sea you know how I feel
River running free you know how I feel
Blossom on the tree you know how I feelDragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, don't you knowButterflies all havin' fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done, that's what I mean
And this old world is a new world and a bold world, for me

Stars when you shine you know how I feelScent of the pine you know how I feel Oh freedom is mine and I know how I feel