An introduction to a new member of the Cobweb family!

Happy Monday all! Flipping heck, it’s the 27th of September already…. and yet, I’m still living in March. I haven’t (inside my head) even reached the end of March because March is when ‘Lockdown’ began here in the UK. The only way I know what month it is, is to look down at the bottom, right hand corner of my ‘puter, or laptop screen, and it helpfully gives me the date.

The Dates of the Week are troublesome – when not on the ‘puter – too… but, thankfully, we have one of those day/date calendar blocks of wood things, on the kitchen windowsill, and Mr. Cobs is in charge of changing that daily so that we don’t ‘get lost’ in this sea of ‘what day, month, year are we living in?’ abnormality.

But … we aren’t here to talk about Covid 19 or Coronavirus or confusion. The news on TV talks enough about it, so we shall talk about things which make us smile. Things which bring joy to the heart. Stuff which, this week, isn’t craft.

I mentioned a couple of weeks or so ago, that we had a new addition to the family, but that I’d tell you more about this at a later date. Well, this is that later date!

On July the 14th 2019, our family grew by four feet.

I’d told Hugo, before this date, that Mommy was travelling quite a long way to look at a teeny tiny baby cow…. and that he could come with me, but he would have to sit patiently in the car for a little while, while mom looked at this very special baby.

I met this special baby, and knew straight away that she was meant to be in our family. I watched her scooting around the big garden, clambering over the other babies who were born at the same time as she was, and, joy of joys, I got to hold her, cuddle her and kiss her tiny little head and paws. Would you like to meet her?

Little Baby Tilly – D.O.B. – 18th May 2019

As you might have guessed from looking at the photograph, her name is Tilly. Well, actually, her name in full is: Tilly Twinkles Braveheart.

Braveheart – because the breeder (a first time breeder who was SO lovely that I wanted her to be part of my family too) had said she (Tilly) had proven herself to be a little Braveheart, and so she called her that. Tilly Twinkles was the name I chose for her because she looked like a Tilly, and she Twinkled – so Tilly Twinkles it had to be.

Hugo, Tilly Twinkles and Momma.
This sentiment is completely true – I KNEW straight away when I saw Hugo – and I knew straight away when I saw Tilly. My heart recognised them as if we’d known each other a life time already.

Tilly came home on Sunday, July 14th, and she fitted in straight away. Well, perhaps ‘fitted in’ isn’t quite the right words – it was more like she came, she took over and she trained us to her will.

Big brother Hugo, and his little sister Tilly Twinkles

Hugo adored her. From the moment we drove away from the breeders house with her, he loved her to the moon and back plus a whole heap lot more. Everywhere Tilly went, Hugo went too. He looked after her. Played with her. Shared even his most favourite toys with her. I could hear him saying, over and over and over again – “Are we REALLY keeping her? Is she mine?”

She was this tiny scrap of gorgeousness, who won the hearts of everyone who met her. The vets and all the nurses. The girls working in the pet shop. People in the street. Of course, Grandson Little Cobs, thought she was adorable. He loved to sit on the floor and have her on his lap – and Tilly enjoyed the adoration. Naturally.

When it was time for her to have a nap, we would put her on her bed inside her puppy play pen, and she’d go straight to sleep. Hugo, on the other hand, wouldn’t. He would sit right next to her, on the other side of the playpen, keeping watch over her. If she woke, his ears would go back, his eyes would take on a panic look and he’d look at me as if asking me to do ‘something’ because, in his opinion, she obviously needed something and I, as the mom, would know what to do. He loved her from the tip of her nose to the end of her almost none existent tail. (French Bulldogs are born without tails. They don’t have their tails docked because they don’t have a tail to begin with).

Her puppy playpen also came in useful for allowing the Cats – Alf Capone (Used Furniture Dealer) and Maisie Dotes (crazy, neurotic cat with many loose screws) to be introduced to Tilly, and also time to get used to her, and her to them.

Alf – well he’s pretty accepting of everything. He’s a laid back, chilled out, lover not a fighter – so he just got used to the way she smelled and then he was fine.

Maisie Dotes – she doesn’t have a screw loose – ALL of her screws are loose – so even after all this time, over a year now, she still can’t figure Tilly out. However – Tilly can’t figure her out either. Tilly doesn’t understand why the fluff ball of hissy fits rubs her cheeks up Tillys face. She doesn’t understand why the idiot cat rushes through the living room at breakneck speed, as if she’s in mortal danger. Basically … Tilly doesn’t ‘get’ Maisie at all. But she has learnt to distrust her, because Maisie can be all comely and silly and then change in a nano second into a Neurotic Idiot who should be on the next ‘special bus’ out of town.

Yes – that really is a dummy (pacifier for our US readers). She loves them. Hugo doesn’t love them – he just wants them in order to chew them up!

In short … Tilly Twinkles is like Mary Poppins – Practically Perfect in Every Way! She’s a daddy’s girl and will sit outside the door and howl if he’s on the other side of it. She is loving, caring, fun, sweet, crazy, and loves the pine cones that the squirrels throw down for her. She will race around the garden at 75 miles an hour and use the house as part of the race track she has going on inside her head. Every time the doorbell rings, she gets to the door before anyone else, and when the top half of the door is opened (we have a stable door) – she counts to two and then JUMPS high in the air so that she can just peep over the door to see who’s there. Frightens the ‘you know what’ out of the person on the other side of the door – but she (and we) find it huge fun.

Hugo had a first Birthday Party with Tilly – and enjoyed it all the more because Tilly made it super fun.

My handsome boy, Hugo, on his 1st Birthday

Hugo and Tilly are the bestest of friends, and still as much in love with each other as they were from day 1. They adore being together. Love to play. Love to tease each other. Love walking doggy walks together. Hugo protects her – but she really doesn’t need it. She genuinely is, Braveheart. She is scared of nothing and loves everything.

Hugo and Tilly watching her favourite film

She loves watching TV – and her favourite film is: The Aristocats. However, her favourite music is the Muppets Theme Music – and her very most favourite version of it is a new TV advert here in the UK, for John Lewis, which uses the Muppet Theme music, but without the singers. (click below to watch/hear it) Wherever she is in the house, if she hears that advert come on TV – she rushes in and sits watching, tilting her head from one side to the other, over and over again.

Our family is now complete. We have the most incredible two ‘children’ – and these two children are my favourites. But don’t tell our girls that – for if you do, I’ll deny it and then come and find you and dig up your garden.

Ok enough of me blabbering on … we’ve reached that moment when we have to have the Monday Fun…. here come the Jokes Folks!

Why did the Oreo go to the dentist?

Because he lost his filling.

~~ ❤ ~~

Why do bees have sticky hair?

Because they use honeycombs.

~~ ❤ ~~

I got my daughter a fridge for her birthday.

I can’t wait to see her face light up when she opens it.

~~ ❤ ~~

Why did the nurse need a red pen at work?

In case she needed to draw blood.

~~ ❤ ~~

Thank you SO much for coming and sharing a coffee with me. I love seeing you, and really would love it if you said hello in a comment below. If you can’t find the comment box it’s because you’re either reading this from your reader, or you’ve landed on the blogs home page. All you need to do is click on the title of this post, and then scroll to the bottom – where you’ll find the comment box, waiting for you.

Have a beautiful, blessed day my friend, and a wonderful week, and I’d like you to do me a favour … at some point during your day, every day for the next week, think about three things that have happened that day which have made you smile. Something that has lightened your day or made you happy in some way.

You are more blessed than you think you are, and more loved than you would imagine.

Sending you many squidges and much love ~

There’s a Rang-Tan in my bedroom . . .

Please,  please  watch this short video from You Tube.  It’s just one minute and 31 seconds long.  Please, please, please watch it.

I don’t know about you, but this video made me cry and I vowed that I’d share it on the blog here.

If you don’t know anything about Palm Oil, maybe I can help just a tiny bit and give you a little information:

Palm Oil is harmful is to animals if eaten, obviously causing a problem to marine life, and  a vet here in the UK even had to save the lives of 5 dogs  (<— LINK will open in another window for you)  after they ingested some on the beach.

Palm oil is a type of vegetable oil derived from palm fruit grown on oil palm trees, and it’s one of the most unsustainable industries in the world.

Causing mass deforestation around the world (specifically Africa, Asia, and America, but mostly Indonesia and Malaysia),  palm oil growth is destructive to the environment and the habitats of many now-endangered species, as well as the homes of native communities.  Because of huge demand; it’s in everything.

More than 50% (yes, you read that right – more than FIFTY PER-CENT) of the items on sale in your grocery stores, contain Palm Oil.

Most of the time, it’s a completely unnecessary ingredient,  but it’s so hard to find alternatives to products that don’t contain it. But at least if we’re all made aware, we can try our hardest to avoid it…

10 things you’re probably buying which contain Palm Oil and you didn’t realise it …

1.  BREAD

Most loaves of bread you buy at the supermarket will contain palm oil, so next time you go for your weekly shop, check the ingredients carefully, or even better – buy bread from the counter or a local baker and actually ask them for the list of ingredients they use!

2.  CRISPS  –  (‘Chips’ for our American readers)

It makes sense that making crisps requires some kind of oil, but sadly most of them use palm oil. The packet will likely say ‘vegetable oil’ though, so be aware (this is another commonly used name for Palm Oil). The best thing is to look for crisps that expressly use an oil like olive, sunflower or coconut, or find savoury crunchy snacks that don’t contain any oil at all!

3.  MARGARINE

Margarine is a commonly used substitute for butter and dairy spreads, but even though you’re doing a good thing by avoiding the dairy industry, most of these products contain palm/vegetable oil. Try substituting margarine in recipes with coconut oil, or olive oil.

4.  VEGAN CHEESE

Same as above, many of the dairy substitutes sadly seem to contain palm oil in some form. Keep an eye out on the ingredients and shop sustainably;  many vegan cheeses come in plastic packaging and contain loads of random additives!  (One of the reasons I don’t eat Vegan cheese!)

5.  SOAP

Many supermarket soaps seem to contain palm oil for some reason, buy from local artisans, or brands that use only natural ingredients who don’t test on animals.

6.  ICE CREAM

I have no idea why there needs to be palm oil in ice cream… odd that!  Not all brands do, so always check the label. 

7.  PIZZA BASES

Many supermarket oven pizzas or ready-made pizza bases contain palm/vegetable oil in the base.  But again, check the label because not all will.

8.  INSTANT NOODLES

A staple for all budgeters and quick-lunch-addicts alike, vegan or otherwise.  They’re probably not great for our health anyway.  Oh and yes, this includes Supernoodles, Pot Noodles and Tesco Instant Noodles (for readers in the UK).

9.  SHAMPOO

As with the soap (mentioned above),  try to support ethical/environmental brands when buying personal care/beauty products.  Places like Lush and the Body Shop are good places to start.

10.  CHOCOLATE

Palm oil in chocolate is a more rare occurrence, but still something to check on the ingredients labels.  It can be easy to avoid, so why buy it by accident?

It’s almost impossible to never buy anything with palm oil in it, but if we all are made aware of the issues and try our very best to cut down on palm oil purchases and avoid it where we can, then maybe we can each make a small difference.  All those small differences will add up to a BIG difference.

BE  A  PART  OF  THE  DIFFERENCE!

LINKS:  (all will open up in another window for you)

Say NO to Palm Oil

25 Sneaky Names for Palm Oil

Palm Oil is Everywhere.  Here’s what to do about it.

My BIG thanks to Anna at ‘The Cornish Life’  for help in putting this post together in a short way, as I’m totally unable to ‘do’ short because words just keep tumbling out of my head and my fingers are compelled to share those words!  tsk tsk.

Have a truly blessed rest of your day, my wonderful friend.  Thank you so much for coming, reading, and BIG THANKS particularly for watching the short video at the head of this post.  Be a part of the difference.  Alone we can achieve a small thing.  Together, we can change the world!

Sending you much love, from me in my corner, to you in yours.

The Story of the Spoons.

For the next few minutes I’d like to invite you to come on a [sort of] journey with me.  We’re going to run through a typical day of yours,   but,  we’re going to do it in a way that most of you might not have done before.

There is a saying which goes:  “Everything in life has to be paid for” …  and, when you think about it, it’s pretty much correct.   Now for your journey, I’m going to give you 12 (twelve) spoons.

Here they are.  Your 12 spoons,  all laid out nice and tidy.  

These just happen to be little wooden spoons, but they could just as easily be metal or plastic.  Or maybe big wooden cooking spoons.  Dessert spoons;  tea spoons;  table spoons …  any spoons you like.  Even a total mixture of spoons.  But just twelve of them.

These spoons are going to be your ‘currency’ – but not for buying clothes, sweets, furnishings, etc.  These spoons are a currency for something else entirely.  Something which we all take for granted.

Anyhoo  …  here’s where we begin your journey through your day, and where we ‘spend’ your spoons.   Let’s start with …

• You wake up in the morning.  You sit up and sit on the side of the bed while you put your slippers on and contemplate standing up.  Now doing that  ‘effort’  has just cost you a spoon.  Your balance is now 11 spoons.

• You stand up and make your way to the bathroom.  That effort cost you a spoon.  10 spoons left. . . .

Now … do you have a shower or go and have a coffee first?  Ah, let’s have a shower. . .

• So … shower, towel dry,  and brush your teeth.  Phew!  That was quite an effort!  You just used 2 spoons.  (yes TWO!).  The balance is now 8 spoons.

• You take yourself off to the kitchen,  make a coffee,  eat some breakfast.  Then either watch a little news on the TV,  or read the paper,  or perhaps you log onto your computer and check the news on-line or read/reply to emails.  Pay another 2 spoons.  The Balance on your spoon account is:  6 spoons.

Let’s see …  next on the list is getting to work – by bus or train or car.  Or ... you may be taking the children to school.  Or perhaps you stay home and so maybe cleaning the house or even maybe going shopping!

• Now I know from experience how frustrating getting to work can be, whether you go by car, bus or train (or a combination of all) so just getting to work is going to cost you at the very least 2 spoons.   Your balance is now 4 spoons.
• BUT…  if you don’t go to work and instead you do some cleaning and tidying of the house, then a short walk of the dog, or just a walk yourself for the fresh air and exercise,   then you too will have used up 2 spoons, so that means your balance is 4 spoons also.

Let’s say that it’s now 11.30am.  You began the day with 12 spoons, and you now have  only 4 spoons left.

4 spoons.  It’s only 11.30am, and you still have things to do before lunch, and still have to get through lunch!  You’d better pace yourself.

You decide to just sit at your desk and work.  Not getting out of your seat or expending more than the necessary energy you absolutely need to, just to get you to lunch time.  Or … if you’re at home, you decide the best thing to do would be to sit and watch some day time TV and relax as much as possible.  You need to hang on to your spoons!!!

• Lunch time arrives.  You have to leave your desk to go and buy lunch, or leave the sofa to go and make lunch.  This effort costs you 1 spoon.  3 spoons left.

Three spoons, and you know that you still have to get home from work,  and, or – if you don’t go out to work, then you have to prepare and cook dinner.  Even if it’s only for yourself, you still have to make yourself something … and there are only 3 spoons left.  It’s now 2.30pm.  You’re going to have to work out how to go through till dinner time with only three spoons.

The afternoon sat at your desk (or on the sofa) sounds like the best thing – but you won’t be able to go and get yourself a coffee or tea, or even water …. because that would cost you a spoon.  But you’re going to get thirsty and then you’ll get dehydrated which will give you a headache.  Oh dear, what to do?

• It’s now 4.30pm and you’re hot, dehydrated, uncomfortable and getting just a little ratty because you’re in need of water.  You HAVE to get water.  You think carefully . . .  and tell yourself to get TWO cups or glasses of water so that you don’t have to stand up and get another glass if you get thirsty again.  So you do that very thing.  Two glasses of water.  You’re happy.  You feel like you’ve beaten the system.  YAY!

But you’ve lost another spoon!  Spoon Balance:  TWO

It’s now time to go home from work, – or time to get off the sofa and begin the preparation of food for dinner.  The journey into work cost you 2 spoons – so you have just enough spoons to get you home.  RELIEF!   All your spoons used up, but you’re on your way home!  phew!  That was a close thing!

Or … if you don’t go out to work:  you use up one spoon preparing a simple dinner.  So therefore you have one spoon left. 

Then doorbell rings.  Aw who the heck can that be? 

• You go and answer the door.  It’s the next door neighbour bringing the big punch bowl that she borrowed for her party last weekend.  She stays for a chat on the doorstep – which is lovely because you haven’t seen a soul all day, so it’s really fabulous to see someone and chat!   She shares with you how the party went and how thrilled she was that she’d borrowed your punch bowl.  A five-minute chat quickly turns into 12 minutes of laughing and talking about the weather, the garden, the cost of living.  But eventually she leaves.  You bring the punch bowl into the kitchen and realise how drained you feel, having had to stand at the door with that heavy crystal glass punch bowl in your arms, getting heavier and heavier as the minutes pass by …. and all the time knowing that if you didn’t sit down in a moment you were going to fall down!

You go into the living room and flop down, exhausted, on the sofa....  and as you do so, you realise that you just used up your last spoon standing at the door chatting.

BALANCE  =  ZERO  –  NO SPOONS LEFT.

You’re home, you’re in a safe place ….  but … you’re hungry.  It’s been a long day.  You’re looking forward to dinner.  But . . .  hang on . . .  how are you going to find the necessary effort to cook dinner, then clear away afterwards, do the washing up and tidy the kitchen up again?  You have no spoons left.

This is a problem.  You can’t have what you can’t pay for.  Spoons have been your currency all day, and you’ve had to spend those spoons carefully.  But …  you now don’t have any left to get you through the last few hours of your day, feed yourself or even take yourself to bed.

So … what if you were able to borrow a couple of spoons?   2 spoons from tomorrows 12.  It will mean that you’ll only get 10 spoons tomorrow – but at least you’ll have an extra two spoons today, which will let you cook the dinner, eat it and then clean up afterwards.

Do you take the spoons?  Knowing that tomorrow you won’t then have enough spoons to last the whole day … or do you decide that you won’t eat dinner?

Lets say you take the offer … you cook dinner, eat and clean up. There. All done and dusted.

However,  later . . .  you want to go to bed – so you’ll need to get undressed, take a shower, brush the teeth, and finally … clamber into bed.

Aahhhh   .. hang on.  You don’t have any spoons left again.  You need an extra couple of spoons for all that, and you’re so very tired.  So weary.  You’re in pain.  Your legs hurt.  Your back is killing you.  Your neck is aching.  You’re having some muscle spasms which are hurting you.  Your arms feel so heavy that you can’t seem to pick them up.  You can’t think straight, your head seems to be all fuzzy.   Your hands keep jerking.  You can feel the nerves all over your body buzzing – as if someone has plugged you into some sort of electrical supply.  You NEED to lie down.  You cannot stand up any longer.

You’re unable to think or even talk properly.  You’re beginning to stutter and you can’t think why on earth your body is letting you down so badly.  Perhaps someone should call an ambulance because this really isn’t right.  You NEED TO LIE DOWN.  But you have no spoons which would enable to get you to your bed.

Readers . . .  what you’ve just read is my version or explanation of something called ‘The Spoon Theory’, originally written by a lady called Christine Miserandino who has Lupus, and who made up the spoon theory in order to explain to her friends how her condition affects her day.

I’ve just walked you/talked you through a typical day for you, or someone you know, and it was my way giving you an idea about what is experienced as a daily life of someone who suffers with a chronic illness and chronic pain.

A healthy person can begin a day with an unlimited amount of spoons (or energy), while a ‘spoonie’ (the term used to describe those who fall under the spoon theory) might have perhaps only 8 spoons at the start of their day, or sometimes even less.

There is no control over the amount of spoons because with chronic illnesses, the person suffering has no control over this important factor..  With a chronic pain syndrome, a ‘spoonie’ could wake up one day feeling great and have 12 spoons, but they could wake up the next day feeling just dreadful and with five or six spoons – it’s always out of the control of the ‘spoonie’ concerned.  Even the simplest of tasks can quickly cause them to run out of spoons.

I know all this because like some other readers here, I myself am a Spoonie, and I have to ration my energy.  I’ve had to seriously ration it over the past X number of months, as things have become more and more of a struggle.

I read about the Spoon Theory (by Christine Miserandino) quite some time ago and it struck me as such a wonderful way of explaining things to someone who had no idea of how a chronic illness and severe pain can seriously affect a sufferers life.  Everyone I’ve talked to about the spoon story and talked them through a typical (for them) day, using an imaginary set of 12 spoons, have had a moment where I actually saw a light bulb go off inside their head as they ‘got it’.  Even Mr.Cobs!

I even have my own set of 12 personalised spoons . . . 

. . .  and these spoons hang in my home, here in Cobweb Cottage.

Each of those spoons started life as an ordinary tea-spoon, but none of them are ordinary any more.  I took photographs of them a couple of weeks ago and have been wanting to share them with you.  But … this blog post has gone on long enough so I won’t bore you to tears with them right now.

However – I will share each teaspoon with you in my next post, so that if you want to make yourself some decorative spoons which mean something special to you, or maybe make one or more decorative spoons for someone else, then you might find a spark of inspiration from gazing at my spoons and it could set you off on a course of creativity which you hadn’t thought of before.

Next blog post in a few days time,  …. I promise.  🙂

The reason for sharing the Spoon Story with you today is because I spoke about it,  a couple or so weeks ago,  in a reply to a comment which someone posted on the blog here.  Another blogger read that comment and then we chatted about it, and I promised that I would post a blog post all about the Spoon Story (my version) – and said I’d post it in two weeks time.  Well…. it’s now three weeks (or a bit more), but real life and a poorly doggy have got in the way, but, as the saying goes,  ‘better late than never’, eh?

Thank you so much for coming and for taking time out of your day to spend a coffee moment with me.  Your company is very much appreciated. . .  but then … you know that already.  😉  

May you have a blessed rest of your day, and a truly lovely week.

Sending you much love and a whole bundle of squidges ~

If you want to change the World, start off by Making Your Bed!

I came across this You Tube video quite by accident and it made me choke back tears.  It’s such an incredible speech, and so, so inspiring,  that I had no choice but to share it with you.  I hope you love it as much as I  did  do.

Have a Blessed Sunday, my beautiful Blogging friends.

What I’ve learned this week . . .

Dear Diary . . . (and fabulous readers)

I’ve learned a few life lessons this week.  Not all of them useful in any major sort of way, but all of them are probably important in one form or another.  Let me elaborate:

I’ve learned (yet again) that there are some adverts on the Television that make my skin crawl and infuriate me.  This is the current one: (turn sound up a little so that you can enjoy it) …

That  ⇑  TV advertisement drives me insane.  And … it’s not just me.  Mr. Cobs admitted today that he  “. . . cannot abide this  &*%£*)@  advert!” – as he dived across the room to grab the remote and turn on ‘mute’.

I’ve learned this week. . .  that I really don’t much like my neighbours cat, Missy.  She’s an antagonist of the first degree.

Alfie (aka Alf Capone)  our HUGE great, black cat with a white diamond on his chest (looks like he’s wearing a tuxedo – in the style of James Bond) – is absolutely a lover, not a fighter.

Alf Capone.   Used Furniture Dealer 

Where-as Maisie Dotes, our teeny weeny, little wittle,  butter wouldn’t melt, wide-eyed, elegant looking, princess tippy toes, DIVA – is an out-and-out fighter of huge proportions.

Two unknown cats visited our garden a couple of days ago, when both Alf and Maisie were in the conservatory.  Alf looked up from his feed bowl (breakfast no. 4)  looked at them both, then sat down by the window, with a very soft body pose, not bothered at all that these two intruders were in our garden.  He was only interested in what the entertainment was going to be.

Where-as . . .   Maisie … oh…. my …  goodness!!!  She had been fast asleep, but had obviously heard the hiss and spit which began at a low-level.  So low that we couldn’t hear it, but she could.  Her head spun around like a possessed thing.  She glared out of the conservatory windows and took on an indignation like no other cat could have achieved with their posturing.

She was out of that bed, and at the door within seconds, demanding that she be let out.  “Ohhh ho ho ho… not on your nelly Miss Maisie.  You can fuss all you like, you are absolutely not going out there!”  I told her.

“But … but …. they’re in  our  my garden!!!”   She said, over her shoulder, but not taking her eyes off these two shocking, alien invaders.

Then ….  a third cat appeared.  Ohhh My Stars!!!  This was the one which got Maisie scratching and banging her paws on the glass door, demanding that it be opened because she had to kill that cat!

This cat we knew.   She was called Missy. 

Missy lives in the cottage to the back of ours.  In the next road along.  She’s a brazen thing and cares nothing for boundaries or correct, polite behaviour.  NOR does she care that we have a dog.  Her belief is that our dog is fair game and she’ll take it on if it dares to challenge her.

One of the ‘new’ intruders had obviously come across Missy before, and when she appeared on the top of her owners shed, right at the bottom of their garden, the one intruder turned slowly, and made its way carefully along the fence and away from any trouble.   Missy smirked.

The other cat obviously didn’t know Missy at all,  for he, the daft thing,  walked along the top of the fence and towards her.

Mr. Cobs and I were both now trying to talk to the cat and tell it to  ‘RUN AWAY… RUN AWAY!!!”  …  but it either didn’t hear us, or it just decided that it felt he could take this stroppy individual on single-handedly.

There followed a long drawn out period of BIG hissing, spitting, and meeooaawwl  growling, before I could take no more and walked to the conservatory door, and opened it and closed it again, fast and loudly.  The intruder cat jumped down and ran off …  but  Missy … well she sat there and told me to  “Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough!”.

After 5 minutes of everything being quiet, I finally opened the door and let Maisie out … thinking that Missy would have got bored by now and gone home.  Nope.  Wrong.  Maisie jumped to the top of the fence and began a hunched over, “get ready, I’m going to box your brains out!”  warning sound, and started moving REALLY fast down the fence.

…  “Cobs!  Cobs!!! come and get her she’s going for it!”   Mr.Cobs had to rush out of the house, and grab her off the fence.  Now … she didn’t take kindly to this.  She didn’t want to come in.

He picked her up one-handed (she’s really very tiny, more like a kitten than a cat) – but she was having none of it.  She shouted  “Noooooooo”  –  and reached out with one paw and Velcro’d that paw to one of our big Pine trees.

Cobs Snr. tugged and tugged and couldn’t get her to let go of that tree.  His left hand was around her tummy and body, so with his right hand he reached up and unhooked her claws from the tree – only for her to reach out her other paw and grab the tree with her claws on that paw.  No one was going anywhere.

I glanced at Missy …. and I could actually see that cat smirking at our cats situation.

Mr.Cobs eventually won, and,  despite her best efforts to make him let her go,  Maisie was brought back into the house and the door was firmly shut behind her.

She was as mad as a box of frogs!  She whined and moaned for England.  Had it been a moaning contest, she would have won a Gold Medal.

So … although I learned that I don’t much like the neighbours cat, Missy, . . . 

I also learned that I have more dedication to the safety of our little cat Maisie than she appears to have herself.  Had there been a punch up – Maisie would have had her ears  well and truly boxed by Missy,  for Missy is a big, bold as brass, killer cat, with evil intent.  She runs this neighbourhood with an iron paw!

Well … that’s pretty much the major lessons I’ve learned this week … oh … apart from … …  why is it, when you’re having a great day and everything is going right … why does something – a letter, a phone call, someone or something ….  always come along just to be the fly in the ointment?  [insert grumpy face]. Yeah … I learnt that this week too.

Other than that … it’s been a truly grand week!

So … what have you learned this week?  Do tell!

Thank you so much for coming and sharing a coffee with me.  I love having your company.  Wishing you a wonderful Friday and an even better Weekend!

 

I’m baa-a-ack!

Hello!  😀

The missing crafter known as Cobs has been found!

Most of you know, but just in case you, dear reader, don’t:  I’ve been having my craft room painted, and having new shelving and storage in there so that I could get myself more organised.  Ha!  More ORGANISED.  That’s a joke.

I don’t know where anything is any more!  Things had a place where they lived and I could (kind of, mostly) find them.  But now . . .  I can’t find anything.  Everything is in a new place!  So to help the situation I’ve put little sticky notes with various things written on them and fix them on door cupboards and drawers,  and on various different bits of papers/acetate/card, etc, so that I give myself a fighting chance to find things again.  There’s still some stuff under my sewing desk – but it’s nothing of major importance so it can wait a little while.  But there are some boxes stuff on the sewing desk, and I need to finish doing those over the weekend….  in between real life getting in the way – like it does.   tsk tsk.

Well … while I’ve been getting on with getting on ….  Spring jumped into the mix and ohhh how wondrous it’s made everything here where I am in the South of England.  There are now Bluebells flowering in my garden, along with Primulas, Grape Hyacinth, and even my mums Poppies have pushed through the soil and are warming their new leaves and little stems in the wonderful sunshine we’ve had going on.  Everything has felt so happy and sea-sidey.

I’ve driven past the bay and along the Harbour side many times over the past couple of weeks, and as I gazed out over the ocean, I swear that someone had sprinkled diamond dust over it for it was twinkling and sparkling like no diamond ring could ever achieve.  I so wanted to stop and park, just so that I could enjoy the feeling of deep peace which comes over me when I sit and keep the ocean company.   I’ve booked myself an appointment to keep the Ocean company over this weekend.  I’ll take some coffee and just sit quietly with it, while it talks to me, in its low, gentle shhhhushing sounds, and I listen to its wisdom and calming voice.  It’s the most incredible, peace giving feeling, and I highly recommend it.

Anyhoo . . .   I couldn’t come to chat and then leave without sharing a smile or two with you, so …  get your chuckle muscle ready – we’re going to give it a workout!

These are the Jokes Folks!

A lorry-load of tortoises crashed into a trainload of terrapins,  and I thought,  ‘That’s a turtle disaster.’

If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?

I stopped buying women’s magazines. The only time I ever see someone who looks like me is under the word  ‘Before’.

My New Year’s resolution was to get in shape. I choose round.  So far it’s going really well!

I found a new way to know if you’ve put weight on. There’s a car park near me which has a barrier that goes up when it senses a car is near.  I was carrying two bags of shopping, and …

Old ladies in wheelchairs with blankets over their legs?  I don’t think so! …  I believe they’re retired mermaids.

The worst job I ever had was as a forensicologist for the United Nations. One time I thought I’d come across the mass grave of a thousand snowmen, but it turns out it was just a field of carrots.

I was walking along the other day and on the pavement I saw a white baby ghost; however, come to think of it, it may have been a tissue.

A lot of people like cats. Take the Pope, for example:  I read that he was a cat-oholic!

My mother made us eat all sorts of vitamins and supplements, until one day I nearly choked on part of The Sunday Times.

As a child I watched Mary Poppins so many times I suffered from a condition with my sight.  Umdiddleiddleiddleumdiddle Eye.

 . . .   and finally  . . . 

I had a dream last night that I was cutting carrots with the Grim Reaper.  Dicing with death.

Before I go ..  I have bit of mind-blowingly exciting news that I’m bubbling over about, and which I’ve known about for about 3 weeks, but didn’t know how to go about sharing this news as I didn’t want anyone to think I was showing off or anything like that.

I’ve been nominated for an award in the WordPress Annual Bloggers Bash Awards 2018!  This news made me so, so happy that I sat here and blubbered (cried) about it.  

Now I live under no delusions of winning – there are a lot of other blogs nominated in my category who are far worthier than my little bit of the World Wide Web – but to be nominated — Ohh my goodness!  That alone is the most incredible, magical thing to me.  Such an honour and so unbelievably wonderful to see my name there amongst all those others – aw heck, –  I could cry all over again just telling you about it.  

I’ll give you a link to the page on WordPress so that you can read about the awards for yourself. (Voting closes at midnight on April 30th (BST)).  If you want to see my name there, scroll down to the category of:  MOST INFORMATIVE (Original Content) Blogger – and you’ll find my name in the box under the explanation of what this category is about.

LINK TO LIST OF NOMINATIONS – click here:  https://sachablack.co.uk/2018/04/06/voting-is-now-open-for-the-annual-bloggers-bash-awards-bloggersbash/

Please know that I’m not asking you to vote for me – I wouldn’t ever do that.  The joy of seeing my name amongst all those others is mind-blowing.  I have no pipe dreams about winning.  I don’t ‘do’ Facebook or any of the social media things like that – and no one in my family reads my blog, except for the lovely Mr.Cobs (bless him), so I have no ‘in family’ or friend supporters, but hey,  that doesn’t matter ….  I WAS NOMINATED!  And that alone means more to me than you could ever imagine.

Thank you to the lovely fellow blogger who put my name forward.  I am touched to the heart of me and filled with thanks for your kindness.  Bless you.  I think I know who this is, but I won’t embarrass them by naming them here.

So . . .  that’s me, back in the saddle again.  Now I know that trying to catch up with everyone’s  blog posts I’ve missed reading is going to be a task on the impossible scale, so what I’m planning to do is pick up from today.  However . . .  if there is a post that I’ve missed over the past couple of weeks, which you were hoping for me to see, or comment on, then please leave a link to it in a comment below and I’ll go straight to it and have a peep.

What have you been up to?  Been anywhere?  Seen something?  Created anything?  Do share!

Until we talk – and I hope we do talk …  may your day be bright.  May your smiles be brighter.  And may your life be filled with contentment.  If it’s not … make it so!

Sending you much love and squidges  ~

Paint, brushes and … coo what a mess!

I’ve been very lackadaisical about posting a blog post or two over the last few days, or reading and commenting on yours and/or other folks blog posts.  Sorry about that.  I’m here to explain that there is a very good reason for this   …  so – read on dear reader, read on . . .

Not exactly a photograph of little wittle Cobweb Cottage, but a sort of likeness.  😀

We moved into our incy wincy, teeny tiny,  little wittle cottage over 6 years ago now, and from the moment I saw the already converted garage – no garage door anymore, a lovely wooden floor and spotlights in the ceiling.  No draughts, large double glazed window with a double glazed door, and all this sited in the back garden, across the decking – well, I knew that whatever the cottage looked like, THIS craft room was going to be mine.

However …  I’ve longed, from that moment, for the room to be painted white inside.  It was and always has been since we moved in, been a delicate shade of lavender.  Not a bad colour by any means, but just not the right colour for me.  I longed for an antique sort of white which was soft on the eye and which I found relaxing and inspiring.

I dropped hints every now and again.  I even added this request to my Christmas List to Father Christmas, but it was missed off the presents left by F.Christmas, and hints never hit the spot.

BUT . . .  about 3 months ago Mr. Cobs suddenly said that he was going to put me some better shelving in my craft room!  (Be still my beating heart).  I gasped in  shock  loving surprise and gazed all starry-eyed at my craft room walls, imagining the new shelves.

Now Mr. Cobs isn’t someone who rushes at jobs.  I have to put in a request several weeks before I’m in need of something, so I knew that I’d likely have to wait for a short while for the said shelves to appear – but I began to kind of sort out my crafty things.  Moving stuff about, making piles of this, that and the other, all of them waiting, waiting, waiting – bit like being 42 weeks pregnant when you hoped to go into labour at week 39.

Suddenly, himself BURST into action earlier this week (during a bout of it not raining for a change!)  and after measuring (several times) and informing me of what he thought was the right shelving system for me …. and me agreeing or suggesting perhaps a tweak here and there – I decided that I would chance my arm and see if perhaps, before he put up the said new shelving, would he, perhaps, maybe, be open to taking up a paint brush and splashing some paint around in order to turn lavender walls into white ones.  And . . .  . . .  . . .  HE’S DOING IT!!!  He’s actually painting the Craft Room!  Oh joy of joys thy name is Cobs Snr!

Not entirely a photograph of Mr.Cobs, but a sort of likeness.  lol

Ohhh dear reader  😀  I cannot explain how amazing the room feels when I go into it.  It’s bright, uplifting but restful and the positive vibes are incredible.  AND …. …  the new shelving system looks wonderful.  There’s still things to do, and still all the putting back of all the crafty stash etc to be taken care of, but …  it’s all this moving, changing, painting, putting up shelving, altering, (and still waiting for an extra bit of shelving and then possible moving of a couple of things around) – which has kept me away from posting.  I haven’t been able to properly get into the craft room, and the dining room table is filled to capacity with all the crafty stuff which has had to be moved from the craft room, in order for painting to take place – so no crafty thing has been produced to share with you here

So … my apologies that I’ve missed some of your posts over the last week or so.  I will attempt to catch up at some point.  But a combination of Mr. C., paint, brushes, and creations of a totally different sort than normal …  and also because I’ve been far too excited about this [almost]  Alice in Wonderland happening, has kept me from being able to do anything other than be child-like excited about my craft room being decorated.

I’m kind of here …  I’m just not quite all there.  (but you knew that already). lol

Oh …  and in the middle of all this Little Cobs had a Birthday, and I hosted a Birthday Party here at Cobweb Towers – and had to hide all the craft stash which has been sitting on the dining room table!  It was all hidden really well.  In fact so well that I’m not sure we’ve found it all again!  LOL.

Anyhoo …  normal service will be resumed once everything is back to normal.  Until then …  please take very good care of yourself.

Sending love and squidges ~

 

Funshine Friday!

Yesterday,  Thursday, was the first day FOR WEEKS that it didn’t rain (or snow).   Personally I think a celebration is in order! 

We’ve had the most awful rain here in the South of England.  Heavy, bucketing it down, soak you to the skin, horrid, horrible rain.  I’ve had to remind myself, over and over, that God doesn’t tell me when to water my garden, so I don’t have the right to tell him when to water his.  I’m pretty sure that there’s method in what I consider to be a ‘rain madness’ – and I’m sure that all will become clear(ish) eventually.  But until then, I’ve agreed with Mr.Cobs that it’s probably better that he continue to build the Ark  from the kit I bought him, which he began work on a few weeks ago:

Not entirely convinced that it’s going to be big enough for all those 2×2 animals from around the world that are the requirement for a structure like this – but we’ll do our best, and if they have to be Lego sized, then so be it.  I’ll pack a magician who might be able to turn them into the real deal when we get through the journey.   😀

Aaanyhoo  . . .   I thought we could do with a smidgen of fun on a Friday, since we are now officially in Spring (except for those of you on the other side of the planet – and I’m sure ‘fun’ is a requirement for Autumn  going into Winter, down there!).  So with FUN in mind, I share with you a Text Message received from daughter No.2 . . .

She sent me, in full, the following:

The Washington Post has published its yearly neologism contest in which readers are asked to supply alternate meaning for common words … and the winners are:

1. Coffee (n), the person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted (adj) appalled over how much weight you have gained.
3. Abdicate (v) to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (v) to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly  (adj), impotent.
6. Negligent (adj), describes a condition in which you absent mindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v), to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n), gross olive-flavoured mouthwash.
9. Flatulence (n), emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n),  a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Rectitude (n),  the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
12. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologists.
13. Circumvent (n), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.
14. Frisbeetararianism  (n), (back by popular demand):  The belief that when you die, your soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

Those tickled me in just the right place,  and also brought back a memory of something I read a few years ago, about words which had a meaning of what they meant, and also the opposite of what they meant.  Get these . . . .

• Dust, along with the next two words, is a noun turned into a verb meaning either to add or to remove the thing in question.  Only the context will tell you which it is. When you dust are you applying dust or removing it?  It all depends whether you’re dusting the crops or the furniture.
• Screen can mean ‘to show’ (a movie) or ‘to hide’ (an unsightly view).
• Seed can also go either way.  If you seed the lawn you add seeds, but if you seed a tomato you remove them.
• Stone is another verb to use with caution. You can stone some peaches, but please don’t stone your neighbour (even if he says he likes to get stoned).
• Trim as a verb predates the noun, but it can also mean either adding or taking away. Arising from an Old English word meaning ‘to make firm or strong; to settle, arrange,’ “trim” came to mean ‘to prepare, make ready.’ Depending on who or what was being readied, it could mean either of two contradictory things: ‘to decorate something with ribbons, laces, or the like to give it a finished appearance’ or ‘to cut off the outgrowths or irregularities of.’ And the context doesn’t always make it clear. If you’re trimming the tree are you using tinsel or a chain saw?
• Resign works as a contronym in writing. This time we have homographs, but not homophones. “Resign,” meaning ‘to quit,’ is spelled the same as “resign,” meaning ‘to sign up again,’ but it’s pronounced differently.
• Off means ‘deactivated,’ as in “to turn off,” but also ‘activated,’ as in “The alarm went off.”

See … even on non edumacational days, you STILL learn something new!  lol

Have a truly blessed rest of your day, and a wonderful weekend.

Sending you much love ~

 

 

 

 

The Friday Post ~ History of Events on 23rd March

Good morning and happy Friday to you.  How’s your week been?  Good I hope, or at least, very little to complain about.

My week has been busy and wrapped up in tiredness.  I’m not doing anything which burns the candle at both ends, but cooo…  I seem to suddenly find a drop in energy levels between 3pm and 4pm, and I’ll either fall asleep in my chair and catch 40 winks, – or on one day I actually made my way wearily to my bed and slept soundly until 7pm.  I’m beginning to think I should be living somewhere in Spain or Mexico, where they have an afternoon siesta!

Anyhooooo….  This  ‘On this day in History’  of lesson is going to be the last ‘On this day in History’ lesson for a while.  All schools have holidays and breaks to allow pupils some freedom and fun, and this Friday Lesson is doing just that.  But for today,  you’ve come dressed in your school uniforms and ready for some edumacation, so let’s crack on with it, shall we?

23rd March 2018

On this Day in History

1540 – Waltham Abbey is surrendered to King Henry VIII of England; the last religious community to be closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

1775 – American Revolutionary War: Patrick Henry delivers his speech – “Give me liberty, or give me death!” – at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia.

1839 – The first recorded use of “OK” (okay).  Okay, frequently spelled OK and occasionally okeh is a colloquial English word denoting approval, assent, or acknowledgment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OK

1840 – John W. Draper takes first successful photo of the Moon.  John William Draper (May 5, 1811, – January 4, 1882) was an (English-born) American scientist, philosopher, physician, chemist, historian, and photographer.  He was the first person to take an astrophotograph;  he took the first photo of the Moon which showed any lunar features in 1840.

1857 – Elisha Otis’s first elevator is installed at 488 Broadway New York City.  Elisha Graves Otis (August 3, 1811 – April 8, 1861) invented a safety device that prevented elevators from falling if the hoisting cable broke.  He worked on this device while living in Yonkers, New York in 1852, and had a finished product in 1854.

1889 – The free Woolwich Ferry officially opens in east London.  The Woolwich Free Ferry is a boat service across the River Thames, London, UK, which is licensed and financed by London River Services, the maritime arm of Transport for London.  The service is operated by Serco Group under licence from TfL and carries both foot passengers and vehicles.

The ferry carries more than one million vehicles and 2.5 million passengers each year. Occupants of vehicles (including drivers) are counted as passengers.  In depth website about the Woolwich Ferry

1888 – In England,  The Football League,  the world’s oldest professional association football league, meets for the first time.

1901 – Australian opera singer, Dame Nellie Melba, reveals the secret of her now famous toast. Melba toast is a very dry, crisp, thinly sliced toast often served with soups and salads or topped with either melted cheese or pâté.

The toast was created for her by chef (and fan) Auguste Escoffier, who also created the Peach Melba dessert. Melba toast is said to be derived from the crisp toast that was part of Dame Melba’s diet during the year 1897, a year in which she was very ill.

For the cooks among us:  Melba toast is usually made by lightly toasting bread in the normal way. Once the outside of the bread is slightly firm, it is removed from the toaster and then each slice is cut in half “longitudinally” with a bread knife to make two slices, each half the thickness. These two thin slices are then toasted again to make Melba Toast.

1903 – The Wright Brothers apply for a patent on their invention of one of the first successful air planes.

1909 – Theodore Roosevelt leaves New York for a post-presidency safari in Africa. The trip is sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic Society.

1919 – In Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini re-formed his Fascist political movement.  Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism.

1933 – The Reichstag passes the Enabling act of 1933,  making Adolf Hitler dictator of Germany.

1956 – Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic in the world. (Republic Day in Pakistan)

1965 – NASA launches Gemini 3, the United States’ first two-man space flight (crew: Gus Grissom and John Young).

1977 – The first of The Nixon Interviews  (12 recorded over four weeks) are videotaped with British journalist David Frost interviewing former United States President Richard Nixon about the Watergate scandal and the Nixon tapes.

1983 – Strategic Defense Initiative:  President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles.

1994 – Aeroflot Flight 593 crashed into the Kuznetsk Alatau mountain, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, killing 75, when the pilot’s fifteen-year old son accidentally disengages the autopilot.

1994 – A United States Air Force (USAF) F-16 aircraft collides with a USAF C-130 at Pope Air Force Base and then crashes, killing 24 United States Army soldiers on the ground. This later became known as the Green Ramp disaster.

2001 – The Russian Mir space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji.

~  ❤  ~

Born on this Day

1904 – Joan Crawford, American actress (d. 1977).  NB: The year of Miss Crawford’s birth has been variously identified as 1904, 1906, 1908 and 1909, the last being her own favourite.

1921 – Donald Campbell, British car and motorboat racer (d. 1967)

1925 – David Watkin, English cinematographer (d. 2008) – In Chariots of Fire, he helped create one of the most memorable images of 1980s cinema: the opening sequence in which a huddle of young male athletes pounds along the water’s edge on a beach” to the film’s theme music by Vangelis.

1929 – Sir Roger Bannister, English runner

1935 – Barry Cryer,  OBE.  an English comedian, actor and screenwriter.

1946 – Alan Bleasdale, English screenwriter and producer

1953 – Chaka Khan, American singer

1957 – Amanda Plummer, American actress – daughter of actors Tammy Grimes and Christopher Plummer.

1962 – Sir Steven Redgrave  CBE DL, retired British rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000.  He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships golds.  He is the most successful male rower in Olympic history, and the only man to have won gold medals at five Olympic Games in an endurance sport.

1965 – Marti Pellow, Scottish singer (Wet Wet Wet)

1968 – Damon Albarn, English musician (Blur, Gorillaz and The Good, the Bad & the Queen)

1971 – Gail Porter, Scottish television presenter

1980 – Russell Howard, English comedian

1983 – Mo Farah, Somali-English runner

1989 – Ayesha Curry, Canadian-American chef, author and television personality

1990 – Princess Eugenie of York.  Younger daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and of Sarah, Duchess of York.  She is eighth in line of succession to the British throne,  and has worked for the Hauser & Wirth art gallery in London as an associate director since 2015.

❤

Died on this Day and remembered here

1965 – Mae Murray, American actress, dancer, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1889)

2001 – Rowland Evans, American journalist (b. 1921)

2002 – Eileen Farrell, American soprano (b. 1920)

2011 – Elizabeth Taylor DBE, American-British actress, socialite and humanitarian (b. 1932)

2012 – Jim Duffy, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1937)

2015 – Lil’ Chris, English singer-songwriter, actor, and television personality (b. 1990)

External Links for more news on this day

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times ~ On This Day

❤

Time for a coffee and a slice of contemplation  . . .

Thought for the Day

A book was published in 1913 written by a lady called Eleanor H. Porter, which many of you will have heard about, read or even watched the film which was made based upon this book.  The book was called Pollyanna.

I can see some of you smiling already, – but for those of you who don’t know this book/film let me explain a little more…. 

The writer, Eleanor H. Porter originally trained as a singer, but in her later years she turned to writing.  She wrote books for adult readers, but she wrote mainly children’s literature books.  But Pollyanna was my favourite – both as a child and as an adult. 

Ms. Porter also wrote a sequel:  ‘Pollyanna Grows Up‘, because the book had become so popular.  There are other books, other ‘sequels’, but none of them are written by Eleanor, for Eleanor passed away just seven years after the first Pollyanna book was published.

However, she has left behind her a legacy of monumental proportions.  Not just in me, but in all children of the world who have read this book or had it read to them. 

To be honest, if it were up to me I’d make it compulsory in the first schools, second schools and high schools, purely because of the ‘Glad Game‘ which Pollyanna’s father taught her, and which the reader learns about by reading the book.

Pollyanna was an orphan.  Both of her parents had passed away (not at the same time).  Pollyanna was sent to live with her spinster aunt – a rather stiff, stern, crotchety woman who lived alone – except for a small ‘staff’ – a maid, gardener and a driver.  We do, at a later point in the book, learn that Aunt Polly was like she was because of a lost love.

Pollyanna and her bright, sunny, cheerful, joyous and loving personality, was to transform not only her Aunts life, but the lives of all the people who lived in the small town where she lived.  And she did it simply by teaching everyone she came into contact with:  ‘The Game’.

The Game is ‘The Glad Game‘.  It’s a game which Pollyanna’s father taught to her one Christmas time.

Pollyanna was hoping to find a doll in the missionary barrel which held all manner of things….  however, Pollyanna only found a pair of crutches, which she had no need of.  Naturally Pollyanna was a little disappointed.  Her father, seeing his child’s sad face, made up the game on the spot, and taught Pollyanna how she could look at every situation and find the good side in there somewhere.  And … in this case of the crutches, she could be glad about them, because, he told her,  “we don’t need ’em!”.

Armed with this Glad Game, her life was transformed, and also, the lives of all people around her.

When she moved into her Aunts house following the death of her father, Polly was late coming to the dinner table one evening and her Aunt said that she would be punished by not having the delights that had been prepared for dinner in the dining room, but instead, her punishment would be to have only bread and milk, and she would have to eat it in the kitchen with the servant, Nancy.

Pollyanna was absolutely thrilled to bits and couldn’t thank her Aunt enough!  She explained that she loves bread and milk, and she loves Nancy too, so to be able to eat bread and milk in the kitchen with Nancy was a real treat!

Pollyanna teaches this very same outlook to other people around the little town.  She teaches the invalid, Mrs. Snow, the Glad Game (which takes some considerable time as Mrs. Snow is a real grouch!) …  and eventually Mrs. Snow is playing along and enjoying life again.

And it’s this ‘Glad Game’ which is my thought for the day.

Something which happened recently made me put the Glad Game to work…  and that’s why I’m thinking about it today. 

Some of you may have read Pollyanna … but if you haven’t, or haven’t read it for a while, I urge you to go and borrow a copy from your library, or even buy the book, so that you can learn for yourself about the ‘Glad Game‘, and see if you can put it into practise in your life. 

Every situation you come to,  every problem you find yourself with,  has something in it to be glad about.  It’s that elusive ‘silver lining‘ that people talk about;  sing about;  make movies about!  Find the good in a situation and SNAP!, suddenly the situation doesn’t seem quite as daunting as it did before!

And, once you get used to playing the Glad Game, – teach others how to play it too.

I promise you, that although it’s a simple philosophy, it really does work.

Transform your life …  and then go and transform other people lives for them by teaching them ‘The Glad Game’!.

You, have a great  ‘Glad Game‘  day.

Sending you much love, from me in my corner, to you in yours.

 

50 Mums. 50 Kids. 1 Extra Chromosome.

World Down Syndrome Day 2018

Today, Wednesday 21st March,  is World Down Syndrome Day.  #WDSD18  World Down Syndrome Day is celebrated on the 21st of March every year.  

Down’s Syndrome is caused by the presence of an extra chromosome in a baby’s cells. In the majority of cases, Down’s syndrome is not an inherited condition. Down’s syndrome usually occurs because of a chance happening at the time of conception. 

A lady called Rebecca Carless,  from Coventry in the UK,  joined together with 49 other mothers from an online Down’s support group known as “Designer Genes“, to make a special video ahead of World Down’s Syndrome Day,  celebrating children with Down’s syndrome.   They made a carpool karaoke type lip sync video featuring those 50 mums and their children all singing along to Christina Perri’s multi-platinum selling track, “A Thousand Years”.  #RebeccaCarless   #wouldntchangeathing

The video was originally inspired by ‘Singing Hands‘ – a UK organisation whose videos have helped many in the group learn Makaton – which is a form of sign language (which you’ll see in the video)  – and one close to my heart as Little Cobs, in his very early years, had a problem letting us know what it was he was trying to tell us, so we all made an effort to learn Makaton in order to help both him and us.

The mums all got together to show the world just how ordinary and fun  life with the condition is and how they “Wouldn’t Change a Thing“.

I’ve seen this video of the song many times over the past couple of days, and seen various snippets of it on news programmes, morning TV and afternoon TV, and I’ve sought out the video on YouTube in order to share it,  – and  every  single  time   I’ve watched it,  I’ve (without fail) dissolved into floods of tears.  Not of sadness, but love and joy about how fabulous and wonderful those little dots of incredibleness truly are, and how much love and pride pours out of the mums who are singing and signing with their children.

I HAD to share this video with you.  Get a tissue ready – I feel that you might need it.  Please, please enjoy, … and do share it.

Sending my love and wishing you, and them, a truly blessed day.