Thatched Cottages

This is just one of the cottages, in the surrounding villages near Tamworth...it is right next to the village pond, and the driveway at the side leads to a little whitewashed "pub" that also used to be thatched , but as now got a traditional roof...the thatchers art is sadly dying out now as they are very expensive to replace and need to be renewed every 10 years or so, but they are lovely and we have several around this area...also a fully thatched Public house still remains...i will put that on my next Blog....the pub does good food and are very reasonable too,...i love it there.

Feeling fed up today.

Hi I have got this to work at long last. I think it must have been a fault or something the past few days.
Glad you are feeling better Dee, will write to Kerry tomorrow (an E-mail) as there are a few things i do not want to put onto my blog in case it is read by certain people.
Here is a picture of Bailey and J.C....he is a little nutter at times and just jumps on her all the time....she looks a bit angry with him in this one...but he just goes back for more all the time, she will take so much then pin him down and lick his ears and clean him, they are funny to watch....none of the other cats will have anything to do with him and just spit at him....i must shut up or i will become boring, talking about my cats all the time...(i think im getting like an old Biddy) How is your craft work coming along, i will have to go onto both of your blogs and see if you have put any pictures there (Kerry & Dee)....i think maybe Dee will be back with you by now ???...i do not know if you will get this after all as a box as come up saying "it couldn't connect to Blogger.com" so it may fail !!!! i thought it was o.k. after all but maybe not......talk soon hope you get this. Joy

What a dope I am.

I am such an idiot i have put the wrong picture with my last letter...that was Lady NOT Bailey.
Here is one of Bailey (alias Malibu)

I have changed my Kittens name

Well at last i have decided to change my kittens name...it isn't Malibu any longer (i called him that after the drink..which i love with Ice and Pineapple)
He is now called Bailey (after the drink "Baileys Irish Cream" which i also love with loads of ice !!)....i'm not an alcoholic ...honestly !!!, but if i am going to have a drink in the summer, those are the two that i would choose...and i think the name Bailey really suits the little fellow. , He is into everything now and eats like there is no tomorrow, he was hanging from the top of my dressing gown on the back of the bedroom door this morning and he as so much enengy, Lady the albino is still very shy of coming downstairs, even though i leave all the doors open for her, she will only come down if i am here with her.
She is here with me at the moment sitting on the window shelf looking outside..she is a good little cat and very loving.. i do hope she starts to stay downstairs with the other cats soon...i have put another picture of her here (i hope)
Kerry you are getting so good at your craft things...the little pig was so clever i loved him(or her) i used to collect pigs, i had so many of them and if i visit any of the local farms i have to see the pigs...there is something about them that is so sweet...they always look so sad...Tamworth is world famous for a rare breed of pig called the "Tamworth Red"..have you heard of them ??

I am going to take my camera and get some pictures of the thatched cottages in the villages around here and also the thatched public house (the English name for a bar were you can buy alcohol)... i just want a nice sunny day, we have had a lot of rain the last few days....all the sunshine and clammy heat, seem so far away now and we seem back to "normal" English weather again...Talk soon...get well soon Dee.

Forgot to show you the" Baby"

I forgot to show you the baby is name is Malibu at the moment, but the grandkids are going to give him a permanent name. He is about 7 weeks old, and still a bit nervous...he keeps hiding behind things..he went behind the washing machine on Monday when i 1st had him, and i was so worried as i couldn't get him out until my son came....but he was o.k., he seems to get a little bit more relaxed each day and is getting playful.

Hello At Last

Hi At last, its been ages since i last wrote, but the family problems seem to be sorting themselves out at last..so i can have another go....iv'e already made 2 mistakes, i think ihave forgotten what's what..but i'll keep trying..i think its old age, i seem to forget everything lately.
I love my 2 new kitties, i was only going to have the one (the baby)..but im a sucker for a sob story and when i heard the poot albino was to go in a cats home if she couldn't be homed quickly, i decided i had to have her...i am so glad i did, she is adorable, her poor owner couldn't take her to the flat she was moving into, and didn't want her to be put in a home,..but at least she can come and see he now that i have her...she is so loving and sleeps on my bed at night...her name is Lady she is almost 3 years old...i am going to try and put a picture of her on my blog..i only said TRY !!!

Forgot to finish my blog, Laura is the girl in green at the front this was taken a few weeks ago at he girls section of the Bicester division Cadets, she as been going for a while now and loves it...i pray she will be o.k...i no she is young and healthy, but i worry for the kids today...and this is supposed to be a "nice area" of the U.K....i'd hate to live in a bad area...do you have things like this happen in Nevada?
Hope you are all well over there...i haven't been in touch because of all that as been happening, but Laura is a little better today and as stopped been sick.

Really Upsetting Week

What a terrible week it as been...Laura my grandaughter who is 14 as been assaulted again by two 16 year old girls, who were drunk (or on drugs) and took a dislike to her,...this is the second time it as happened to her, but it is happening to others young girls in the area....it happened in the summer last year to her and her friend..both were beaten badly by a gang of girls at that time.
She as been in hospital with head injuries and is on a drip and awaiting another brain scan, she has 2 black eyes and is bruised and has several lumps on her head and legs and was sick most of the night and Adam (her Dad) stayed at the hospital with her...Ness is Distraught, it is a police matter as her injuries are quite bad....the girls held her head under one of their arms and smashed it continually onto metal railings....the only thing they
kept saying was..aren't you a pretty girl. !!
This sort of behaviour is getting out of hand now...and its the girls who are by far the worst offenders...whatis happening to the World.

Messed it up again

Forgot to put my writing with my picture...sorry, what an idiot...but ill get there..anyway the cottage is here now.

Another lovely Irish cottage

We have lots of these in parts of England too.

I loved this thatched cottage..there were so many of them in this little town in Ireland...
We have got them in parts of the U.K. too (there are a few not far from where i live).....but they are getting rarer nowadays, to have a house thatched costs thousands of pounds and they need doing every ten years or so. also the art of the thatcher is dying out...i think its mostly passed down from generation to generation in families, and lots of young people aren't interested any more..what a shame as they look so lovely....nowadays folk are just having normal slate roofs replacing the thatch....what a shame, they're now where near as pretty.

Sending another pic of Ireland.

Hi here i go again, attempting to send another picture and hopefully writing as well.

This picture is of Dingle bay in the ring of Kerry, it is the county that we stayed in while we were there...it was so lovely..the pictures don't really do it justice....hope this turns out...bear with me if it doesn't....if you can enlarge it the picture will come up with a lot more detail...its a very pretty place...here goes, hope it works !!!!

Managed to do a picture ...at last !!

View from the yard in Ireland.
I have managed to send a picture to my blog at long last..thank you so much Dee...trouble is i didn't manage to send the writing as well.....never mind i am getting there !!...slowly ...this picture is the view from the yard at Toms house, thats Margarets cousin, it is even lovelier in reality... i will send more now that i can do it.

The weather here is so weird at the moment...baking hot, then torrential rain and thunderstorms...which usually clear the air and cool things down a little...but its hotter than ever afterwards at the moment, at least in this part of the country....we need "swamp coolers" i think...i had never heard of those until i read Dees blog, it made me look them up, they are used mostly in desert areas aren't they... they sound really cool.

Kerry i LOVE your picture room, what a clever idea...and i can't believe how lush and green your garden is, i always imagined it to be a bit barren as you are in a desert area, you must work so hard on it...but i bet its lovely to sit outside in it and eat out there...thats what i love most about summer (although ours only last a short time)..eating outside..whats it called Al Fresco ??..or something like that, anyway i love that.

Take Care all of you, Talk soon. Joy

chat- a-while-with Joy

Too hot to do anything.

It is just too hot these past few days to do anything, i got up at 4.30 am today as i couldn't sleep and decided to try and clean up my garden & do some much needed weeding and planting, i was going to do it last night, but decided i would just have a lie down for half hour and then do it....Big mistake, i just went into a coma and couldn't bring myself to move after that......trouble was i had brought some plants from the garden centre on Friday and STILL hadn't put them in, so in all this heat the poor things were almost keeled over....i felt so guilty....but i have given them a good soak now and stood them in water and they are rewarding me with straight backs and healthy leaves and flowers again.
I will have to put them in tonight now as it is just too hot to do them this afternoon.

I have got to take Jimmy and some of his friends to Coventry today to see a band called "the Red Hot Chillie Peppers" ...as anyone heard of them ???...i am informed that they are famous, but i must be really old as i have never heard of them...but at least he is getting out now and doesn't seem as withdrawn as he was.... i think this time it may really be over with Polly...but you never can tell, i just wish they would either stay together or make a complete break as the wound is never allowed to heal when she keeps ringing him up all the time and he goes back for a week or two and then its all off again...and each time he is lost for a while......he's 30 now, but its strange when they are hurting they will ALWAYS be "our kids" won't they ?

I loved your picture of the Rose Kerry... i too love roses, was that one in your garden ?..... i especially love the scented ones, but there are not many of them about now, the real old fashioned scented ones that are intoxicating... (nowtheres a big word for a Sunday afternoon) !!!, i have one called " The Mayor of Casterbridge"...and it is wonderful i can smell it right down the garden...Gordon brought it for me the year before he died and it always reminds me of him... i do not know if you can get over there but if you can it is special.
I hope Howard is still doing well after his surgery and i think every day about your brother Mike Kerry... how is he.?

I am going now to have a shower and a cold beer as i am melting again, the heat in this country is so muggy and damp at this time of the year...some countries it is a dry heat and it is still bad but at least your not melting...i love the brightness of the sunshine it always cheers me up...but why does it come with its own damp as an added extra.
Talk soon Joy

got my puter back at long last

Hi everyone.
At long last i have got my computer back...i have missed it the other one was so slow.

I am not sure if this will work o.k....so here's hoping, if i get any feedback i'll know its o.k. to start writing again.
I have been to my great grandaughters christening today..it was lovely, but as always happens there were agruments within the family, i hope they can soon be sorted out, a christening should be a happy occasion after all.

It as been very hot here in the U.K. the past week or so, but it was a lot cooler today.
Ellie Mae looked lovely in her little dress and cape, she is always smiling and is such a pleasant little soul......why do they have to grow up ??

I have lots to talk about, but i will wait to see if this one gets printed o.k.

I have just got up to date with yours & Dee's blogs Kerry, loved the pictures.
Will write more tomorrow...its good to be back on line...hope youe feeling much better now Kerry.

Take Care all...Love Joy

chat-a-while-with Joy

Back from Ireland.

Hi got back from Ireland safe and sound had a wonderful time...i love that place so beautiful and peaceful.
The weather was pretty bad though..lots of rain but it was still lovely.

Went up the Connor pass on the mountain road a really wonderful place with spectacular views in good weather, but we hit a lot of really bad rain, we were up in the clouds as they were so low that day... couldn't see a hand in front of us, the fog came down so quickly..very eerie...there was a sheer drop the one side... then up ahead as we got closer we saw lots of car lights...some idiot had only tried to take a huge wagon laden with heavy machinery up the narrow pass and had got completely stuck in between the rocks, it just couldn't move...some of the folk had been there over an hour, and couldn't get a line on their mobiles (cell phones) to get help, it would have been nigh on impossible and really dangerous to reverse all the way back down the pass again (especially with that sheer drop) i was really spooked, in the end decided to do a multi point turn in the narrow road and go back that way, very scary...but afterwards everyone decided to do the same....we would probably still have been up there if not !!!..it put well over an hour onto our journey but at least we were safe.
I do hope i can get the hang of sending pictures onto my blog as i have some lovely ones to show you.

I can't wait to see the ones you took of your Mom & Aunty, i bet they are funny...Kerry you are a wind up !!!

I was so sorry to hear about your Uncle Mike i do hope he is on the way to a complete recovery now, it must have ben great going to San Francisco, but i wish it had been under better circumstances for you....that is one place i would really love to visit, id it a very long way from you ?? i think it must be.

I am off to Vanessa's on Monday for the week as she is on holiday and i am looking after the Dog, Cats and Luke as he as just started a new job and doesn't want the time off yet.

Jimmy is still seperated from Polly, i don't think they will get back together now,..he is very sad and Lost,...but better now than when they were married with children...things have been very stormy with them for a long time now and i was worried, but he is so sad at the moment.

Anyway i will get into my day now i have loads to do...hope to hear from you soon.
Take Care...Love Joy.

Well Done Funkey Monkeys

chat-a-while-with Joy
Well done all of you i am so pleased and proud of the Funkey Monkeys !!..coming First !! that is so brilliant..but i never really doubted !!!

I'm so glad you had a brilliant time...but i bet you will sleep for the next 24hours Kerry (i know i would)

It is so great that all that money as been collected too, to help find a cure for M.S....congratulations to everyone who took part in the walk.... where is next years walk going to be held..or do you always have one in Nevada ?.... i would dearly love to be there for next years...who knows.

Jimmy as just walked in so i will say goodbye for now
Well Done again Love Joy



It is very cold and grey here this morning...not at all spring weather, wish i had stayed in bed.
I put some washing on the line in my garden yesterday to save my tumble dryer..but it is even wetter now so i'll probably get it in and tumble it anyway.......oh why am i waffling on about silly mundane things like this when the funkey monkeys came 1st in the M.S.Walk !!!!.... i'll shut up.

I'm going to get some packing done for my holiday, so that should cheer me up then i'll have

Thinking of you all today

Hi funkey monkeys.
I am sitting here thinking about you all on your walk today...you must be sick of me saying i wish i was there....but i really do,!!!
I keep wondering if it is too hot, or your legs are hurting or your feeling too tired Kerry??,..i know Nessa gets poorly in the heat..but she still really loves it......then i stop and think of all that it means to you ,and i KNOW you will be enjoying it, i bet the atmosphere is great there with all the family and friends around you...have a wonderful time...with the time distance you may be finished the walk by now....i wasn't sure how long it went on for but i know you will tell me all about it when you have recovered and i can't wait to hear about it and see the pictures...Vanessa said she wishes she could have been there too...she would love that, i don't think they do anything like that in this Country (as far as we know) i think Ness woulkd get to hear if they did.

I have been out in my garden doing some bits today..but then it started to rain and i have had to leave it...that so gets me cross, especially as i was just making headway on it, i only have a small garden but its not easy doing it yourself..i have to sit on the floor to do most things as i can't bend too far with my back (arthritis)..but once it gets wet i can't sit down...so i had a nice cold beer instead....

Anyway i am going to cook myself some dinner now...hope you had a Fabulous day....Love Joy