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Wednesday 31 December 2014

MUMMY BRAGGING !!! ……….


It's New Year's Eve again { how quickly they roll around !! } and, for the third year, our son, Daniel, has mixed all of the music that accompanies the London Fireworks that will bring in 2015.



He hasn't told me anything about it so, it will be a surprise for us too { although, I did suggest a few tunes that might be apt !}
I shall post the video tomorrow as I am a very proud mum.

HAPPY 2015 !!! 


XXXX







image via reuters

Jackie

Wednesday 24 December 2014

MERRY CHRISTMAS ……….


Merry, Merry Christmas to all of my lovely blogging friends. Thank you for all of your brilliant comments throughout 2014 and, I look forward to your continued friendship in 2015 ….. 


















Have a wonderful, magical time and, I hope that Father Christmas brings you everything that you asked for  !!!!!

See you in 2015.


XXXX



















1, 3, 7, 10 & 11: via what if winter is not a place outside, image 2: via 12th and white, image 4: via kero i am, image 5: via wayside treasures, image 6: via chicquero am,  image 8: via inspiration lane, image 9: via umla 




Jackie










Tuesday 9 December 2014

BY INVITATION ….. IF MONEY WAS NO OBJECT, WHAT CHRISTMAS PRESENTS WOULD YOU BUY …..

Our By Invitation subject this month is Christmas presents and what you would buy if money was no object ….. 


Christmas is coming and it's time to throw money around like there's no tomorrow, trying desperately hard to please our loved ones …..


…..  I'm a bit reluctant to buy into the mass hysteria of spend, spend, spend …. it gets downright obscene at this time of year, Black Friday being an example.

SO …..

I've been kind enough to source some lovely but unusual presents that are not too expensive and will please your loved ones far more than anything in a Tiffany box, Birkin handbag or a pair of shoes with red soles ….. NO ….. don't thank me …. it's been a pleasure and, feel free to email me for suppliers !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




First off the tee is the Uroclub ….. men are so hard to buy for and, if your other half, brother, uncle, nephew or best friend plays golf, they will be over the moon to open the Uroclub on Christmas morning and, next time on the golf course, they will be the envy of all of their friends when they get caught short at the tenth hole !!


Next, smoking mittens. No longer will smokers have to huddle together for warmth as they quickly smoke in sub Arctic temperatures. Smoking mittens have a hole you can smoke through !!


When someone tells you that they really don't want anything for Christmas, well, you really can get them nothing ….. unfortunately, you have to pay something for nothing ….. £3.99 !!!!



Introducing the wine bottle glass because, lets face it, drinking straight from the bottle is so unsophisticated !!



The Rejuvenique Anti - Ageing Mask claims to keep your face youthful and rejuvenated ….. it could also double as a hockey mask or Halloween costume.



Just one for those with more money than sense, recreate the effect of lounging about in a large, grassy meadow a la ' Honey I Shrunk The Kids " ….. unfortunately it comes with a $13,400.00 price tag !!!!!


If you like to give homemade presents and are good at knitting, how about these ? Perfect for this time of year but, if you don't fancy wearing them this way, you could always wear them on your head at the next office Christmas party.





Forget about Cocoa Butter and Honey Jojoba. Anyone who's anyone is washing in cherry scented bags of blood shower gel. The perfect way to freshen up after a tough day battling against werewolves and armies of undead Zombies !!




Happy Christmas shopping !!





For some nicer Christmas present ideas, Marsha has all of the links to participating blogs. 








image 1: via inspiration lane, image2: via pinterest, image 3: via recabrones, images 4, 5 & 7: via cocoloids, image 6: via getting personal, image 8: via over 50's forum, image 9: via clarissa's blog, image 10: via daily mail, image 11: via the world of kitsch, image 12: via neatocoolville


Jackie

Wednesday 19 November 2014

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS ? ……….



Have you seen this ? ……….. 



WOW …..a bit scary although, I shouldn't be surprised. Our lounge leads into our conservatory and, when you sit in the lounge with the conservatory doors open, you can see that video through our conservatory glass roof, but in real time !!!!! The planes are all going into or coming out of Stansted. { luckily they are still very high in the sky, so you can't hear them, but there are LOADS of them, criss - crossing the skies !! }






Love this song from Moulin Rouge and Nicole.










P.S : Sorry about the falling snow interfering with the air traffic !!!!!!


videos from youtube image : image 1: via garden style living, image 2: via a dozen eggs, image 3: via all perfectly timed, image 4: via ladylicious, image 5: via zsa zsa bellagio


Jackie

Tuesday 11 November 2014

BY INVITATION ….. BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE !! … **** WARNING **** ….. PHOTOGRAPHS OF ME AS A CHILD !!!!!!!!!!!!!

When we were given the subject for our ' By Invitation ' post this month, I was not a happy bunny !! How on earth can you choose ' the best day of your life ' ?!! Surely, by rights, it should be ones wedding day, the days that our children were born, a special family and friends get-together, a wonderful holiday, our son and daughter-in-law's wedding or the birth of our grandchildren, shouldn't it ?



I doubt very much, if we only have one ' best day of our life ' but, the day that was SO special for me was Christmas as a child.


It was the most exciting and magical time …..

I can remember my Mum, buying a tree at the greengrocers and dragging it back to our house { I'm not sure why she had to do this and not my Dad !! } and then our Dad, my sister and I would turn that dark green pine tree into a sparkling, twinkly tree of magic { along with a few arguments as to where to place a bauble or who would have the honour of putting the fairy on top of the tree !! } My Mum would make a Christmas cake, mince pies and the Christmas pudding, along with bread sauce and oodles of other things { there wasn't a Waitrose or M & S in those days !! } Then, on Christmas Eve, we would place an old limp, white pillowcase at the end of the bed  which, by morning, was brimming over with, board games, chocolate coins, paints and paint brushes and that chocolate toolkit that tasted like soap but was delicious at the same time because we could eat chocolate at 7 a.m in the morning and, I always had my fingers crossed that my favourite would be found in my pillow case …….


Jacks !! I LOVED Jacks ….. 

None of it was overly expensive but, in those post war years, there wasn't an abundance of things and our parents would have to save up for the presents and food. Our Dad went to work all week and then, at the weekends, he played in a band. In the months leading up to Christmas, he would take an empty gin and whisky bottle with him to gigs and, whenever he was offered a drink, he would pour it into his empty bottles and, by Christmas, they would be full !!!!

Then, when our relatives had arrived, it would be time for the presents under the tree. I belonged to the Swimming Club and swam in galas { that's me on the right } and one of my best presents was the Swimming Club track suit. They were pretty expensive and I can remember being so excited to have it !!

 Another year, my present was a leather netball { as you can see, I was in the netball team …. that's me, sitting on the grass on the left }


….. and, one of my favourite presents of all ….. my Jaco skates. I would play on these all day, all year, until the leather strap broke and then they would go on my Christmas list again. 
Unlike today, we would only get one of these presents each year from our parents, along with a present from Aunts and Uncles and Grandmothers and Grandfathers, all of which were quite modest by today's standards. 

I hope that we managed to make our own children's Christmases as magical as ours were because they are certainly up there as one of the best days of my life.









To read about others ' best days of their lives ' go and see Marsha { although, at the moment, she is having computer problems so, you might just have to read mine again !!!! }









image 1: via via zsa zsa bellagio, images 2 & 3: via the gifts of life, image 4: via etsy, images 5 & 6: via ME, image 7: via jacabug, image 8: via pinterest

Jackie

Saturday 1 November 2014

HALLOWEEN AFTERMATH ……….





How was your Halloween evening ? I have always been a bit of a misery when it comes to Halloween and never wanted to buy into the Americanisation of it all … Guy Fawkes night is our tradition. But, over the past few years I have bit the bullet and joined in…. after all,  it does have Pagan roots and is thought to have been influenced by folk customs and beliefs of Celtic speaking countries.



Every year, we get more and more children knocking on the door and, so far, they are always polite, have gone to a great deal of trouble to dress up and are always very excited to receive some sweets and a bit of small change.
Who am I to spoil their fun ?!!!!





Guy Fawkes night next, then it's Christmas !!!!!!!!!!!!







image 1: via catastrofe, image 2: via zsa zsa bellagio, image 3: via inspiration lane

Jackie

Monday 27 October 2014

HAVE A FEEL !!!! ……….

October has been Breast Cancer Awareness month for quite a few years now but, this year, I haven't heard so much about it, so I thought that I give everyone a gentle reminder  { men as well as women } to get them out and have a little rummage around just to make sure that all's well in that area !!
















Just popped that one in to remind the men { …. and as a memory training course for me !!!! }






image 1: via pinterest Mario Testino, image 2: via crush cul de sac, image 3: via daily mail, image 4: via elephant journal, image 5: via night tattoo, image 6: via dustjacket attic, image 7: via soulstratum, image 8: via the star 

Jackie