Oh Jules forgive my post on my site to you .....I am so sorry not to have known of your hubbies departure.  You know from the support you have given me how well I understand your current situation and my heart goes out to you.  My site tells of my joirney through this uncharted place you find yourself in.  It is difficult but you will come through.

All my thoughts and a big virtual hug

Ian x

Hi Ian

Just lovely to see your name appear on my thread and suspect its just as hard for you to post but I really appreciate the message.  It was a long three years for hubby and I take much comfort in the fact that he is now free from the clutches of his disease which took his happiness away.  I am surrounded by the love of my family and friends (and the ongoing support of virtuality buddies) and now, like you, my life must be lived to the best of my ability. Early days still but so many memories to cherish and share with others - a few late nights of 'story-telling' along the way.

Sending hugs and best wishes and hope all is well with you and Julie in your new life.  Jules x

Hi Sue

Great day out with my daughter at the BBC Good Food Show today.  Lots of naughty and then healthy free tastings and a couple of great demonstrations (Mary Berry with Paul Hollywood and then James Martin). Has been quite a weekend with my son caught up in the Gatwick closure yesterday (6hrs stuck airside on arrivals after an 11 hour flight but great 'safety first' by the authorities so no complaints).  They did make it to me for evening meal  and delivered the wonderful news that my son went down on one knee and proposed whilst they were on holiday - so happy for them both - we were like excited kids for a couple of hours.

Will be thinking of you tomorrow and sending bigs hugs for a great outcome and quick recovery.  Take care  Jules x

Me again Sue,

Prune stone caused no problems thankfully (really must remember to buy 'stoned' prunes ha ha). Hope you enjoy some of your Mum's home cooking whilst you recuperate. I have just had some of the naughty treats that I bought at the Show today (honeycomb dipped in salted caramel) so will need to do a few more gym circuits this week to compensate. Well done for early Spring cleaning and am sure you feel good when  you walk back into the room afterwards (I love the smell of new polished furniture now where did I hide that duster ha ha).  Chat soon  Jules xx

Hi Lorraine,

I will join you in that cuppa as same thing has happened to me in the past - then I put it down to my age and being a technophobe!!!  My daughter is planning to come round (without grandchildren in tow so we can concentrate) and sort out a few things online for me - an excuse for a girlie chat too!!

Had great news last night when my son and other half visited as he popped the question to his long term girlfriend whilst they were on holiday in Tobago (apparently he had been planning it for months and was very nervous - ahhh). So her birthday dinner next weekend will now be a double celebration - so very  happy for them both.

Hope you doing okay, take care Jules x

Evening Brian

Really pleased to read that Mrs B's diabetes levels are much better; a relief to your both I am sure.  I also see that Brianitus is on the up again so has to be good news.  Though of you today as they were roasting  chestnuts on one of the stalls at the Good Food Show today and also Kent cob nuts were available - shame on me did not buy either!!  I did buy some ...............cheese as well as some cider (put away for the festive season) and a few sweetie treats. Atmosphere was great and lots to 'sample' and watched a couple of demonstrations.  All in all a good day out.  Both my daughter and I were on a high having had the news of my son's engagement whilst they were away on holiday.  All in all a wonderful weekend.

Am not surprised your son somewhat miffed regarding late arrival of longbow especially as he had planned on using it today.  Hope he did well anyway. 

Managed the shopping in the dry (amazing) but got absolutely soaked when supporting gym staff performing at our local Fun Day during the afternoon.  Still was worth it as they had put so much effort in their 'Bollywood' themed 'turn'.  Felt so sorry for all the stall holders and fun fair rides as it really was a total washout but as they say the show must go on and it did; all credit to them.

Hope you have had an enjoyable and peaceful weekend. Best wishes to you, Mrs B and the family. Take care. Jules x

Hi Jules,

Wow, what a fantastic weekend! Many congratulations to your son and his fiance, no wonder you were all so excited, that's great news.

I hadn't realised the Good Food Show was so soon but glad you both enjoyed a lovely day out (have a bit of soft spot for James Martin so very jealous!)

Managed to do the whole house top to bottom on Saturday (it's only small so not that impressive) but it certainly looks a whole lot better now and for a short time will not live up to it's name of Cobwebs! 

Up early today as you can see but that gives me plenty of time for numerous cups of coffee before the 7.30am deadline. It's going to be a long day I suspect but am looking forward to a lovely warm bath at my Mums tonight (only have a shower at home so really miss having a good wallow). They have made all sorts of plans for themselves this week so I will probably come home either tomorrow or Wednesday morning for some peace & quiet.

Sorry you got soaked at the Fun Day, what a shame, but well done for supporting them. We've have lots of strong winds here but not much rain. The roof men are coming next Monday weather permitting so finally after all this time I am looking forward to being watertight again. Dread to think what Mrs.Yappy will make of all the disruption (I have warned them about my difficut neighbour!) She is away at the moment but I did put a note through the door to warn her about it so no doubt she will have a rant or two when the time comes!

Take care and I will catch up again in a few days time,  Sue xx

Hi Sue

Sending best wishes and big hugs your way and will be thinking of you. Focus on that relaxing bath and hope the day goes smoothly. Jules xx

Thanks Jules, nearly there now. Was up at 4.00 so looking forward to the enforced sleep later on!!  Sue xx

Hi Jules,

So pleased you had a great weekend topped off with the news of your son, congratulations to you and your family. Sorry you got wet; I do fee sorry for the organisers and those who took part like yourself for I know the hard work th at goes into organising it. Unfortunately we canot control the weather.

I also have had good news. My son won not one, not two but three gold medals at his archery competition, winning the single, double and the treble longbow part of the competition. And thats without using his new bow which has a lot more power. Me and Mrs B are so proud of him. Photos of medals attached.  

I have written another 1034 word short story yesterday and I read it to our nextdoor neighbour this morning as her eyesight is not that good; she has cateracts. She liked it and said each one gets better than the last but maybe shes just being kind. This is the 11th one I have done and now I must try and see if I can find someone interested in publishing them. I find them a little harder than the longer ones as you can only put so much detail in them but it does concentrate the mind. I will post one on of them on here before Christmas.

Hope you didnt get wet this morning going to work. It's just clearing up here and I can see a small patch of blue sky. Hope the weekend staff have not left you too much backlog to catch up on. I am glad I retired when I did. Most of my life I worked five and a half days per week with Saterday being the busiest. Mrs B is glad too even though I do wind her up at times ha ha. :devil:

We have a carnation just come into bloom in our garden woth more following. In November ???????  When I buy Mrs B some, she often find a shoot which she plants in the garden and most of them seem to take. I shall have to start calling her Greenfingers.

Sending best wishes and kind thoughts to you and your family, Brian.

Hi Brian

Fantastic results for your son, many congratulations.  I am sure the inter family rivally with his daughter helps with his results!!  Will be watching for news of more success once he has set up the new longbow.

Well done on your new writings and do hope you find a way to 'get them out there' and look forward to seeing your Christmas offering for the forum.

Well the good news keeps coming and I am now allowed to spill more beans. I am to become a granny for the third time. My son and fiance are expecting (scan today confirmed all is well) and so, all being well, we will be welcoming a new edition to the family in May next year.  This has been an amazing few days  and considering she was told it would  be hard for her to conceive at all (she suffers very badly with endometriosis) they have been absolutely delighted with this news. Wedding plans will have to go on hold for a little while but it would seem we now have to accommodate a ' little extra' on our family holiday next year - so exciting and hubby would have been overjoyed too.  Her 30th birthday dinner this coming weekend will now be joint engagement party too.

No rain here today so dry commute and increasingly busy in shop and the town in general. Still does make the time tick by that bit quicker.  We are trialing a new system for book replenishment so plenty to keep me occupied. An extra pair of hands on the department today which makes all the difference.

Sending best wishes to you, Mrs B and congrats on your son's achievement.  Take care Jules x

Goodmorning Jules,

Thanks for sharing your good news on here and congratulations to you, your son and his fiance. You must be thrilled and lets hope the good news keeps coming. Glad you had help at work today it must have made life easier for you.

I lost my internet connection for the later part of the afternoon and all evening but overnight it seems to have sorted itself out thank goodness for I was getting quite frustrated as I had several things I wanted to do.

My son tried his new bow out last night and said it has so much more power. He has yet to try it out at the 100 meters as he is only able to shoot indoors on Monday evenings but was very impressed so far. Thank you for you kind words regarding his acchiements.

Just has an e-mail from my sister in Canadad and her husbands brother has just died and also a distant relative has also died. So she now has two more funerals to go to. Mrs B has decided to make her owm diabetic mincemeat as the shop she used to get it from has stopped stocking it.

Hope your visit to your mum goes well this morning and also your visit to the gym afterwards. I am hoping to take Mrs B to a garden centre this afternoon as she saw several item there last time.

Take care Jules, sending best wishes to you and your family, Brian

Goodmorning Jules,

Thanks for sharing your good news on here and congratulations to you, your son and his fiance. You must be thrilled and lets hope the good news keeps coming. Glad you had help at work today it must have made life easier for you.

I lost my internet connection for the later part of the afternoon and all evening but overnight it seems to have sorted itself out thank goodness for I was getting quite frustrated as I had several things I wanted to do.

My son tried his new bow out last night and said it has so much more power. He has yet to try it out at the 100 meters as he is only able to shoot indoors on Monday evenings but was very impressed so far. Thank you for you kind words regarding his acchiements.

Just has an e-mail from my sister in Canadad and her husbands brother has just died and also a distant relative has also died. So she now has two more funerals to go to. Mrs B has decided to make her owm diabetic mincemeat as the shop she used to get it from has stopped stocking it.

Hope your visit to your mum goes well this morning and also your visit to the gym afterwards. I am hoping to take Mrs B to a garden centre this afternoon as she saw several item there last time.

Take care Jules, sending best wishes to you and your family, Brian

Hi Brian

No surprised to read that your internet was playing up.  With the heavy rain and high winds that hit here last night my internet was 'in and out' and equally frustrating!  You get so used to being able to log on and its infuriating when it's taken away!  Hope all well in  your neck of the woods.  Dry and breezy here today.

Well you asked for more good news and am happy to report that my weekly visit to see Mum was an uplifting one.  Arrived as she was have an eye test (all residents  being seen on one day by visiting optician) and she needs new prescription so all in hand.  She was pretty chatty and absolutely delighted to hear our latest family news which seemed to lift her spirits a little. I spent over an hour and a half there (then she was off to lunch) and during the afternoon they were due a visit by the Mayor and Mayoress plus local press as one of the residents turned 100 yesterday. It was so nice to have a mainly positive visit.

Hope you got Mrs B to the garden centre and she found what she wanted.  Very dangerous places as far as I am concerned ha ha but very rewarding to. You mentioned Mrs B planting up 'carnation shoots' and my Mum used to be very successful at this. May well give it a go myself when I buy them in future - something for nothing comes to mind. I still have passion flower, fuschia and the autumn flowering nerine bowdenii (?sp) doing well and the Japanese maple has only just started to drop its leaves - amazing.

Sorry to hear about your sister in Canada's losses; the family all experiencing a sad period just now. I have had a invitation (via funeral directors) to attend the yearly memorial service at the local church for all those who have passed this year. Am in two minds as not a regular church attender and to be honest remember hubby every day - will sleep on it.

Hope you and Mrs B have a peaceful evening. Take care.  Jules x