Laugh

Well after sad comes laughter...... had to post a photo of my eldest Son enjoying himself for a change, sorry it may spoil his image of bah humbug, but.............

Sad

Sad post today.... Just had to take sister in law with her cat to visit the vets.. thinking a few pills, but sadly they had to put the cat to sleep, so have a very upset sister in law, and of course having been there myself to have cats put to sleep, not nice memories...still better than the cat suffering...

Oscar gave me a good sniff when I came home, and is now sitting very quietly with sad eyes, I wonder if he knows...

Off to get cheered up on some blogs......so I can post a happier post tomorrow.....

Boxing Day

Good morning bloggers.....hope everyone enjoyed a good Christmas, whatever you were doing..whether you like or hate Christmas!

I had a wonderful day...my two sons came for the day... and we had relations call in.. lots of phone calls from friends, and good food...and wine... and still more food....

Not too many people on Alistair's site, they were enjoying their Christmas day as well...

Christmas is a hard day without my hubby, but the boys made up for it, I am a lucky Mum, as they look after me.... they may think I do not realise how much they put themselves out for me, but I do, and I love them dearly...

Thanks, if you look in, the bloggers from Dives blog for wishing me a happy Christmas....I hope you all continue to write those great stories, love them...and I hope you all have a great New Year.

CHRISTMAS

Thought I would share a little poem I have had for years, and as so many people are not into Christmas.... thought it might be something for them to think about.... before I start forgive me if I do not put the commas and capitals in the right place (Dive)....

I have a list of folks I know, all written in a book.
And every year at Christmas time I go and take a look.
And that is when I realise that these names are a part,
Not of the book they're written in, but of my very heart.

Each name stands for someone whose path touched mine,
and then, left such a print of friendship that I want to touch again.
And while it sounds fantastic for me to make this claim,
I really feel I am composed of each remembered name.

So never think of Christmas cards as just a mere routine.
Of names upon a Christmas list, forgotten in between.
For when I send a Christmas card that is addressed to you,
It's because you're on that list of folks I am indebted to.

And every year when Christmas comes I realise anew,
The biggest gift life can give,is meeting folks like you.
And may the Spirit of Christmas that forever endures.
leave its richest blessings in the hearts of you and yours....

Happy Christmas....

Oscar

Oscar now has flashes in his eyes, when David surprised him by taking his photo..

Sorry that the Monkey tree spiders worried some of you!!!but you must admit it was very seasonal......

Hope everyone has a Merry Christams..

Alistair Christmas 2006

This is Alistair bursting out of a christmas box at his gig on Sunday night, thanks for letting me borrow the photo girls...also thanks to a great friend on Al's site I was able to listen to half of the gig over the phone....

Christmas Tree

Just could not resist this... my monkey tree that David grew from a seed many years ago, just looked so like christmas this morning...with natures helping hand....

Christmas

Sitting in bed in the early hours of this morning, as usual sleep evading me again...feeling very sorry for myself and low, my thoughts turned to Christmas and its meaning .....starting with the past when I was small..I suppose like many Mums and Dads there were hard times, but always my family made Christmas special for us children.. A small 3 bedroomed house was full of family and relations, however did 10 or more people and dogs have room and Christmas dinners sitting round our little table, lots of lovely cooking smells, and laughter... a sock with Orange and nuts and presents, not many in those days, Church services and Carols... has my memory forgotten if there were bad times, good, I hope so, because all I remember is the love and good times.

When our Sons were born, how lucky and happy we were, and the Christmas's we had were so wonderful the boys had pillowcases stuffed with goodies and I have always loved cooking so lots of food and fun, not a lot of money but lots of happiness, well is this my memory playing me up again, I hope not, as I remember the love.... do they? I wonder, was it the same for them, or do they remember it differently, they are not keen on Christmas now, so was it something we did wrong? I hope not I like to think they have good memories....of love and good times.

When my dear husband passed away on October the 29th 2002, he was the love of my life my rock and after 46 very happy years, life changed, and Christmas did too..... despite having my wonderful sons it will never be the same....I want so much that they be happy, because I love them with all my heart, as did their Dad....

But have we forgotten what Christmas is all about. whether we believe the story of a baby born in the stable, surely we should try and and have at least one day when all our worries. wars, greed, drugs, and murders can be put to one side and all the commercial hype which seems to be what Christmas is about nowadays... are put on hold and the true meaning of Christmas, Peace, Joy, Love. friends and family...

So no matter how we are feeling, we must remember that there are so many people much worse off than us, and for a while let us all live with good happy memories and enjoy a Christmas of happiness and love...

If that sounds sloopy and silly ...well maybe it is, but we only have one life, so let us make it a happy memory...this old mad bint will sign off with wishing each of you bloggers a happy, healthy and wonderful Christmas......

Alistair gig

Morning.... have not posted much, after reading so many interesting blogs, never think I have much to say..

However, Alistair had a gig last night in York, and a lot of the fans from Al's site went, had a phone call from one of the girls for all of the first half, which was great.

We have a cinderella party on line, as several people receive phone calls from the people at the gig, you can feel like you are there...

I really hope he can get a cd out for everyone this next year, we of course manage to get hold of his recordings, but are not allowed to have recordings of other peoples songs...so it is a good job he writes so many himself....

I have been busy with baking for Christmas.....I usually bake for a few people who are unable to... so my bungalow smells of Christmas for a nice long time!

Off to catch up on a few blogs... Have a happy Monday..

Christening cake

Think I had better learn to keep a steady hand to take photos !

My friends family are coming home from Australia for Christmas, and I am making a buffet for the Christening of one of their sons....I did the came for the eldest son some years ago....

It will be great to see them all again....and I know how much my friends are looking forward to seeing them....It must be hard to have the family on the other side of the world....

Christmas is coming

Thought I had better get on with Christmas it is creeping up fast....

Better late than never

Did not realize how long it had been since I posted on here...

Alistair has put a new demo on his "my space".. which is rather nice....

Have been busy making flowers etc for my cakes... went on Friday night to cut the Golden Wedding Cake up for my friend, tried some of course ..good to know the recipe is still coming out the same......

Have had problems trying to get a grant for cavity wall insulation for my bungalow, rang the council who said ...because I was not on benefits I could not get any help.... plus the person on the other end of the phone was rather rude, maybe I did wrong, working and paying a full stamp all my life.... then one of my friends from Alistair's site, rang her council in Bristol, and lo and behold, she can have hers done for nothing... amazing how fair our system is!!!!

Anyhow have contacted help the aged, and they were so nice and helpful, so there may be some help out there after all....all the adverts say how we must take care of the planet, but I find that there are so many pitfalls in the system, have you tried getting through to some of these people on the phone... enough of my moans...think how lucky I am, I have a quite good health (for my age) lovely family and friends, also my Oscar.... so I will look on the bright side, and know my cup is half full, not half empty...

Oscar posing

Oscar again

Oscar relaxing

Could not resist my cat having a doze!

Swans

Not a very good picture of some swans I am trying to make ready for a wedding cake....

Another Square Cake

This cake is for a friends wedding.....

Another Golden Wedding Cake

Just finished this cake for friends Golden Wedding..... just of late people seem to want square cakes......

day out

Last Saturday had a great day out.Went to Norwich to see my Sons', and took our ex neighbour, as they had not met for years.

We went and had coffee and cake in Norwich, and then for a walk around, we came across a local market, all fresh local organic food, very nice indeed, had some samples, but did not want to eat to much as we were having lunch at one of my sons....

Popped into the Forum, ( a lovely part glass building, that houses a small library, coffee shops..and the Look East TV and Radio stations) where Roy Waller was producing his Saturday Country Radio Show, so we had a wave at him through the glass....then on to the Castle, which looked great in the sunshine.....as you can see by the photo..

After a very nice lunch, went on to Swallow Aquatics, One of my Sons has a very nice tank of fish and goes there quite often....a small but very good place in which the fish in the tanks are so well looked after, and really are a joy to see.... there is also a tropical section, where the coral and all the creatures you can see on TV, are there for real.. I never tire of looking at them....also houses reptiles, and all the food for them, including live crickets for the dragons...mmmm not sure about liking that......

Lovely day good company, and looking forward to the next time....

Friends Anniversary

Another Cake

This is a cake for my friend's sixtieth birthday.

latest cake

Alistair

This photo of Alistair, is from a collection of really great ones from a friend on Alistair's site.

Oscar my friend

about the cakes

These are two wedding cakes made last year.... just getting the idea of how to post my pics

cakes again

Cakes

As this is Cakes and Al ....This is Alistair Griffin....taken at Norwich a couple of Christmas's ago.....
after he had been at radio Norfolk... will try and load more later...

Storys

So Lesley and I are at Border's Bookshop in Norwich to see the Storys playing acoustically, prior to watching their electric set at the Arts Centre that evening.
These are a few pics from the afternoon session:








That's us at the bottom, chatting with Dai (Lisa, we gave him your love).
We had a lovely veggie meal at Pulses (above Rainbow Wholefoods), then down to the Arts Centre for the main event.
Brian Houston played a great support set, having first grabbed Lesley for a chat. Lovely man.
The band were fantastic. True musicians.
The only downer was that my old legs had to stand all night, and this morning, my old back knows it. But it was worth every minute.
See these guys if ever you get the opportunity.

welcome

Hi hope the world is good with you today....

I would like to welcome a couple of Alistair fans that have looked in on me.......

Today it is Finishing some lace work on one of my cakes.....hopefully I will soon learn how to put the photos on...

Have a good Wednesday.....

trying!

Hi Sorry not much posted....... am still trying to find out how to work this.....

Busy with cakes at the moment...... just had a visit from one of my Alistair Griffin site friends .....

Hi From Cakes and Al

Hello Bloggers.
I've started this blog to showcase my cake decorating and to remind the world how brilliant Alistair Griffin is.