Borrowed from The Independent

I saw this in The Independent this morning and decided that the idea would be an interesting one to borrow. I shall pass it on for your perusal and attention and invite anyone who would feels so inclined to pick up the baton and run forward with it. :)
My parents were ...  married for over 54 years. They met when Dad was in hospital and Mum was the ward sister.
The house I grew up in ... from the age of ten was a typical three bedroomed inter-war semi. Before that, we moved around a bit.
When I was a child I wanted to be ... well, actually, I wanted to be a princess and rich, neither of which has happened.
If I could change one thing about myself ... I would like  to be slimmer and to have curly hair is the superficial answer (yes, I know that's two). The more serious answer is I would like to worry less.
You wouldn't know it but I'm very good at ... being tidy and well organised.
You may not know it but I'm no good at ... maths. I used to be a maths phobic but I am trying to get over that.
At night I dream of ... losing things and looking for things, often my purse!
What I see when I look in the mirror ... Someone who has made mistakes in the past  and had a pattern of not trying hard enough and settling for second best academically but who is now pretty well on track with what she wants to achieve in life.
My favourite outfit ... something which is comfortable but looks really good. I am still looking. There is some truth in the French saying, 'Il faut souffrir pour etre belle' which is loosely translated as 'To look halfway decent requires a large degree of discomfort.'
My house is ... compact, easy to look after and in a quiet location which is great for country walks.
My favourite work of art is ... anything by L.S. Lowry.
A book that changed me ... I can't think of any one particular book which I could say had changed me, but I have always loved reading and couldn't imagine being without at least one book on the go.
Movie heaven ... I am not a huge fan of films but I do get hooked on TV series sometimes. All time favourites in that respect is the Beiderbecke Trilogy, based on the novels by Alan Plater, probably because they are reminiscent of a more carefree era of teaching but I also enjoy his sense of humour, which comes across so well in the series.
The last album I downloaded ... I haven't. I still prefer to buy the CD but I listen to Last fm and that often leads me to artists who are new to me.
My greatest regret ...  Regrets are about living in the past and are generally a waste of energy so I look at them occasionally and then put them back in the box. I can't say I have one regret that towers over the others though.
My real-life villain ... The bankers who are walking away from the recession with huge bonuses and no feelings of responsibility for those whose lives have been changed, sometimes dramatically, by their pursuit of greed and the politicians who are allowing it to happen and whose only strategy is to hammer ordinary people with increasing burdens of taxation.
The person who really makes me laugh is ... Keith.
The last time I cried ... was on Mother's Day because I wasn't going to hear from Hugh but, in my head, I could hear him saying 'Love you, Mum' as he always used to do when he ended a phone conversation.
My five-year plan ... To do my supervision training, which starts in May, finish my Mental Health diploma and later on, do some Neuro-Linguistic Programming training.
What's the point? Life is for living and I want make good use of whatever time is left to me, doing things that I want to do and spending time with those who are important to me.
My life in six words ...Fulfilling, ups and downs, sometimes sad.

Now it's your turn.

How apt!


Seen on the car in front of me on my way back from town this morning:

I'm not drunk
I'm just avoiding potholes.

A strange call


My mobile range this afternoon and I answered it.
"Is that Jenny *********?" "Yes."
"Do you provide counselling in the north Wales area?" asked the Yorkshire accented, male voice.
I sighed. Not a potential client, then.
"Are you ringing me to sell me advertising space?" I said.
"No." (Did I detect a hint of  innocent outrage?) "Why would you think that?"
(Could it actually be a potential client after all?
"Well," I said, "I have been getting a lot of that type of call lately and the way you began the call made me think that this was another one. If it isn't, then I do apologise."
"I'm not sure what's going on here," came the muttered response.
"Are you ringing to ask about counselling, then?" I asked.
Silence, then "Oh, I think I'd better ring you back later." Needless to say, he didn't.
So, there I was, beating myself up good style, bemoaning the possibility that I had let the counselling profession down and this man would be going away totally disillusioned, but Keith was on the computer, googling the number. Sure enough, up it came, the exact number, with accompanying warnings that this was a number not to be answered or to be blocked as it was someone targeting small businesses and pretending to be from an organisation such as BT with the aim of persuading them to part with their money like this
Phew! No need to hang my head in shame, then.

Stagger back in amazement

Downstairs I came and into the living room in my new outfit. Keith looked up and registered..........
nothing.
"Do I look OK?" I asked casually.
"Er, yes," was the cautious reply. He was obviously suspecting a well laid trap.
"I think you ought to take a bit more notice," I said severely. "I could come down here wearing a black bin bag and you wouldn't notice."
"Oh, I would," Keith assured me, a little as though he were trying to convince himself.
I need to take a leaf out of Hyacinth Bucket's book, I thought.

"I'm going to come in again,"I said, "and I want you to stagger back in amazement, you know, like in Hyacinth Bucket."
"I can't stagger anywhere," he said in alarm, cringing in his chair.
"Well, just do the amazement bit, then," I said.
He tried.
"Oh, er, lovely, that looks REALLY nice."
The man needs practice...

A Mother's Story: Mother's Day

A Mother's Story: Mother's Day



Mother's Day


Happy Mother's Day to all for whom it is applicable. I have just received two beautiful bouquets from my two daughters, as you can see here.
It means a lot to me that, in spite of their busy lives and daily pressures, they still remember these 'special' days. Thanks, girls! :)

Plaster board and dust

So, we're still no further forward on the British Gas smart meter front and I've given up making non-existent appointments with them...