Fab, Feisty and Sixty (ish)

K is for KENT My home county the garden of England  (although they took that title away recently and gave it to Yorkshire!) It is where I spent some of my childhood and much of my teen years. I met my Scottish husband there  We married and we had our children in Kent. We left the southern county in 1996 and we now live in the most northern county and city of north west England. My parents  still live on the Kent coast and I visit every few months to get my fix of Kent (and mum's cooking). It's where I feel most comfortable in my skin,  (apart from anywhere with my kids)  I kind of blend in, accent and all. a hot summers afternoon view out over the east coastline   taken from the front of my parents former thatched cottage home a late summers evening sky out over the sea and the Eastern Promenade, taken from the same position at the front of my parents former home (about 400 yards from their present home) For the home of ABC Wednesday, go to  Mrs Nesbitt's Place . http://w...

For other participants in  Dot’s  concept, go to  Sky Watch HQ . Another sunrise skyline from our old farmhouse home. For other participants in  Dot’s  concept, go to  Sky Watch HQ .

Fellow bogger BS5  tagged me with this, so here are my happy, dutiful answers to a game of tag... Here are the instructions: What you are supposed to do...and please don't spoil the fun...Copy/paste, type in your answers and tag four people in your lists! Don't forget to change my answers to the questions with that of your own. (A) Four places I go over and over: My garden, TULLIE HOUSE Museum & Art gallery, (where I work p/t), Starbucks, TKMaxx (B) Four people who e-mail me regularl y: VOGUE magazine a daily subscription newsletter-a habit of past career!),admin@VIAGRA (daily junk mail honest!), FREECYCLE, Blog updates (C) Four of my favourite places to eat: My mum's kitchen ( MOANNIE ), Desi Aroma (indian), a Greek taverna (preferably IN greece), Paris (D) Four places you'd rather be : A secluded sunny beach, in a piazza in Venice or Florence, THE COSTUME ARCHIVE at The V & A, Reading in an overstuffed old winged a book curled up in anold  overstuffed wing...

JUXTAPOSE... (and japanese) with a little help from my COLLINS CONSISE tome AGAIN... I thought I would try to juxtapose some images   I may be wrong with this train of thought, I hope not... here is the definition from my tome 'to place close together or side by  side, esp. for comparison or contrast.' 60ft Oak tree  on the Isle of Wight 2008 8 inch J-apanese Bonsai in my back garden - summer 2008 I bought this is from  a supermarket bargain bin for pennies, all the leaves were brown and crisp.   l trimmed it, watered it and I read up about Bonsai, many people make the error of placing them inside the home,  with central heating and dry air, they are just not compatible. Treat it like any other tree and it wll flourish, put it outside, (sheltered in winter) et voila! http://wednesdayabc.blogspot.com/ Don't forget to stop by  Mr.  LINKY at Mrs.Nesbits place, to see "J" posts from all around the world. And....we'd all love it if you left comments, or, even bet...

I  was chatt ing with my work colleagues recently about how assorted and varied are the names which we give  to our children.   The latest fashion influences  of celeb' names, be it Apple, Britney, Rumer or Kylie , Justin or Jayzee isn't a new thing by any means. I'm sure many babies were called Vera and Betty or Ronald and Fred in the 30's and 40's.  I wonder whether the area of the country or county where we were raised is a significant factor; Tracey (Emin) in Margate or Thomas (Beckett/ Cathedral) in Canterbury?  Nicole Kidmans baby girl is named Sunday Rose, which actually quite surprisingly presses my buttons as  l think it pretty. It wasn't the day of the child's birth, as she was born on a Monday,  but it has everything to do with a Australian poet, apparently!! But is this any 'better'  or 'worse' than say Satchel, Moon unit alpha or Chastity, although l like Apple (of the Paltrow/Martin union) and it's not unlike Cherry or Rose ...

Hosted by  Cecily  and  MamaGeek Today the sun shone. So in a bid to catch a little of the dry weather,  I spent a few moments  in my break,  breathing in the fresh air and  admiring the view we have from the outside balcony area at the museum. I think you will agree it's a great view! Carlisle Castle, Carlisle, Cumbria, as viewed from Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery Hosted by  Cecily  and  MamaGeek

I recently read some remarks about how awful some people think it is to read in the loo! Though to be fair approx the same amount were all for it!  It appears some people are quite anal about having books, magazines, a radio in the loo ... no pun intended, honest! Why are people so affronted by any extracurricular activities in the bathroom? Is it because this is where the unmentionables and the ablutions take place? Or is it a, dare I say the word, 'class' thing? Perhaps because the wealthy and well to do's, have had the use of a toilet system within their houses long before the hoi polloi. They perhaps never had to contemplate, in a wooden, concrete or makeshift outhouse, too cold to 'perform', so to speak and that's maybe where it all started! I've text'd, read books or magazines, wrote 100's of lists and even talked on the phone! But as yet I haven't taken the laptop in with me, into the smallest room in the house. Well maybe the smallest r...

... I-con to be frank I had trouble on this one, all I could t hink of was ICE, but l couldnt find any of my own images  to go with it, and that IS the point right, that its our own photos!? So l reached for my old faithful the Collins Concise tome and looked for inspiration ...ah too late now! Here is a well known and loved Icon , The Princess of Wales,  unfortunately I cannot find the photos I have of her,  which I took when she visited my home town of Canterbury at the  Cathedral in the early 1980's.  However I do have this,  an I-conic   vintage Jacques Azagury designer dress from my Vintage store,  well it isn't anymore as I'm keeping it!  The original was sold in the now famous auction of many of her dresses. Ballerina length dress with black bodice   embroidered with blue stars.   The drop waisted skirt is a double layer of blue organza.  Designer: Jacques Azagury ...and this is my dress http://wednesdayabc.blogspot.com/ Don't forget to stop by  Mr.  LINKY at Mr...

... like a woman going through the CHANGE'. I am, I think by nature a passionate creature, I am a mix of French/Italian & English by parentage ... surely this speaks volumes ... there are no in between moods nor shades of grey with me I'm afraid. So perhaps one should feel sorry for my husband, my daughter and my son, yes probably even Pippa, our dog. I have been known to try and put the iron into the fridge, the kids have found the bacon in the dishwasher instead of the fridge and the butter into the microwave (in error), and no the butter wasn't frozen! I have ranted at the children for not putting a teaspoon into the dishwasher and cried copiously in frustration on the telephone to the man at the bank, the telephone supplier and Sky tv. I know getting through the 8 different menu sections, to speak with a living breathing human in Bangkok, Bombay or Blackpool would test the patience of Mother Teresa or even Gandhi himself, but it defeats me totally, menopau...

... and you can stand there on the pavement for ages in the rain, getting wetter and wearier, waiting impatiently for that damn bus... it never arrives ... nor does the next one due .... and then .... several come all at once .... In the past few days I've received  two awards Thank you... Having recently posted that 'My cup runneth over...' and writing about my reflection upon how blessed l'm feeling with my friends and family all around me, just like a warm blanket fresh out of the tumble drier, (oh dear that analogy wasn't in keeping with the mood l was trying to recreate! ) Thanks to S uburbia for passing this torch to me and as with the last one I feel happy to pass this on in the spirit of those recieved,  to more of my favourite bloggers . YOU ALL ROCK!! A mask t o hide behind Blogbs5 Finding life hard? Stuck in a book Random jottings of a book lover

On friday afternoon I found I had been given this award  from  Hadriana !   So  THANK YOU very much I'm still buzzing... I'm not sure how the system actually works (is it the same for ALL awards, like wot I got ... LOL and can I make my own?) I understand I can give them away to some of my favourite bloggers.  It is lovely to be appreciated and to know that there are people out there reading what we write is a HUGE bonus, (cos I thought I was just ranting and venting!). So thank you once more Hadriana and right back at ya with this award! My tributes are for a few of the bloggers whose posts are unmissable!  THE VIEW FROM THIS END   - for Moannie (mum) who has been blogging for a short time but her posts are all pearls! Call it nepotism l don't care! LOL M oments from suburbia   -  Cos she makes me laugh and cry Poetic License   - for her inspiring and 'poetic' posts   authorblog - David, because his blog is inspiring on so many levels, his photography, his wit, his...

A few days ago I received a very touching tribute from a long time girl friend, it was about female friendships and sisterhood. It made me reflect upon the women in my life and how these friends may also be described as our 'chosen' family. I have always considered myself to be not much of a girly girl , you know the one who loves to party with a gaggle of giggling female friends out on the town, in a pub or club, sometimes getting sloshed and perhaps even boshed at weekends. I rarely went out with a group of girls or women for that matter and I've always been uncomfortable in a crowded and noisy nightclub, a bar or disco, but I did sometimes frequent them, though rarely drunk, often getting slowly merry and smoking myself into a muggy stupor. However when the children came, even that stopped for me and I have to say I didnt miss it at all. The women l would go out with to the cinema, a wine bar or for a meal, were usually work colleagues and they soon dropped by th...

Hosted by  Cecily  and  MamaGeek Whilst on the Isle of Wight this summer, we came across some fishing boats at Steephill Cove. As I drew closer, I saw a whole metal fence covered with fishermens'  floats.  I thought it was a 'photo story' opportunity and a potential watercolour project too!  photostory friday Hosted by  Cecily  and  MamaGeek

This week's ABC Wednesday is I'm afraid a tad se lf indulgent  ... as H i s for my idea of H- eaven ( on earth) my kind of H- eaven is a roomful of BOOKS,  one day I would love to have a library,  my own room dedicated to books! my kind of H- eaven is a book in hand,  on a summers day in the garden,  the children (now too big) playing quietly together (nah not gonna happen!) Old books, new books, coffee table books, children's   books, art books in fact any books! another kind of heaven for me is my collection of vintage H- andbags ,  I use them whenever practical or not,  with a vintage silk scarf tied to one handle,  also very useful when caught out in the rain.  This mortifies my kids, but hey, am l bovvered ?  A selection of bags from my (quite large) vintage collection. Of course my idea of H- eaven is also,  being with my family, traveling, making art and gardening,  but none of these pursuits happen to begin with H! http://wednesdayabc.blogspot.com/ Don'...

I wasn't sure which club to attach this post to so did both, hope that's ok!? Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek The view of the south eastern skyline from our former home of nine years could be pretty spectacular! Just beyond the horizon is the hamlet of Easton, hence the title. Autumn Haze Winter Daze Spring Rainbow Summer Harvest ABC photostory friday Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek SKY WATCH FRIDAY