For thoughts:

My Boots!!!!!

lovely, aren't they?

This is the only reason I love the winter!

Geoff and I were going on holiday tomorrow.
Thats right, I said were.
I came home from work on wednesday to find geoff in his chair (thats not unusual actually!) with his foot up on a chair.
I looked at it and nearly screamed.
It was huge.
His foot had swollen so much you could hardly see his toes.
We knew exactly what it was.
GOUT!
He had this a few years ago in his right foot, now he's got it in his left foot.It is so painful.
I got a cold compress on it which helped with the pain but when we took the compress of it hadn't done a lot of help with the swelling.
We knew it was going to take more than one compress to relieve that.
So, for 48 hours geoff stayed in his chair and even slept in it,but we knew he wanted tablets for this,so went to doctors and got a prescription, tablets,and they have helped a lot.
Geoff went up to bed yesterday (saturday) and he's stayed there all day and today.
He is more comfortable in bed.
I am keeping very fit, running up and down stairs.

We were going to Eastbourne, I love that place and was so looking forward to going there. We haven't had the best of years, have we?
Never mind, these things happen.

Look forward to the new year and we'll go next year.
We both need a holiday then!

Having read one of Dickiebos post I did say I would do a blog about that particular one he had done.
In fact, I had written it under another one which was nothing to do with his blog.
So, I apologise for that, my mistake.
The one I was referring to was called:
Britain edging closer to a banana republic.
What he was saying was that britain has become worse since labour got in, but I tend to disagree with that as britain has been like this for years.

I felt I had to say something about it, but I couldn't say it on the comments page because my reply would be too long to write it in there.

Lets take the first paragraph about drunken/drug crazed yobs.For which he is blaming 24 hour drinking. We did not have 24 hour drinking but there was still the drunks.
There are drunken/drug crazed yobs around, but it isn't a recent happening. It's been going on for years. And I mean years.
I remember when I was a teenager, many years ago now, when I used to go out with my friends at the weekends there were always drunks around.Every friday and saturday night, mostly men, they would just get blotto, because it was the weekend and they did it every weekend. Some just got drunk and somehow managed to get home and others were arrested, although you weren't actually arrested for being drunk in those days, but if they became violent, and many did, then they were arrested.
We used to keep away from them as they weren't our friends and not in 'our group'
Not so sure if there was so many druggies then, but there were probably a fair few.
But can't really comment on them as I'm not sure if they become violent like the drunks.
But there were druggies in those days.

Dickiebo then went on to say about the Eastern European immigrants.
Well, this is where I actually agree with him.
There are far too many immigrants here, if fact, I have never agreed with anyone so much.
I am sick of them, and I am not the only one.
Enough said about that I think.

Another comment he made was about the courts and their lenient sentencing, in some cases he's right, but there aren't that many but when it does happen it's headlines in the papers and, of course, we think all cases are like this.
They aren't.

Smoking.
Now, this is close to my heart!
I am a smoker and I loathe having to go out in the bitter cold to have a ciggie.
At work we all have a fifteen minute break and that turns into 25.
The reason is because we have to go to our lockers and get our coates, have a wee, wash our hands, and then walk down a rather long corridor to go out into the cold.This all takes time from our breaks.
The non smokers have caught onto this now and they now have at least 20 mins break, and who can blame them?
They don't blame us because they know it's the law but it is still infuriating.

The whole point of this is to say that it isn't since labour came into power that these problems have started, the problems have been here for years.
Who do we blame?
I don't know.
Sometimes I think it's the parents fault, for not discipling their kids and letting them do what they want or is it society????
Whatever that is.
No-one has ever explained to me what 'society' means.

I'm old school and believe you should discipling children, even smack them.
My god, I sound like one of those strict school marms, but that is what I believe.
Dicipling starts from when you are a child.

Geoffs cakes.

Geoff makes these cakes for friends, it could be for birthdays or anniversaries.

He does it all, makes the cake itself and then spends hours decorating it.

beautiful, aren't they?

I thought that this year I would make the christmas log.............

(pictured below)

I think I'll let geoff do it next year.

Poor, poor snowdrop, she looks so relaxed and cute in this photo but right now, she isn't! shes petrified.

Everybody has decided to do their bonfire night tonight!

All you can hear is bangers, and sizzling noises coming from all directions.

Snowdrop is hiding, cuddled up behind the sofa, shaking.

I remember our first dog, Lady,she was a cross collie alsation so she was a big dog but we had to give her valium!

She wouldn't go out in the back garden for a week after bonfire night, because she thought she was going to come across some more fireworks.

Bless her.

Our second dog, Becky, who was a butterfly dog and not very big at all,was the exact opposite. She wasn't afraid of anything or anyone.

She looked out the window in awe of the fireworks.

She loved it.

So, I'll go and give snowdrop a big cuddle.(thats my excuse!)

and just be thankful it's only once a year!!!

Aren't coincidences funny?

Last week I was working on my checkout when suddenly I saw Rosaleen and my brother Bob in Asda.

It was a shock as they actually live in Brighton.
They laughed when they saw my face as I just looked in total shock!

Well, they came to the shop because they were going to Birmingham to see some friends. They had lost their son, in Afghanistan a year ago in a road side bomb. As you probably remember bob and rosaleen lost their son, sean, in a road side bomb attack, also in Afghanistan.

I was finishing at I p.m. and as it was about 12.45 they waited for me to finish and we went for a coffee in the town.
We were laughing and chatting away, and they were openly talking about sean and what he had done whilst there in Afghanistan,and how he helped a lot of the children as there was no schooling, and how the soldiers all gave them books to read and just generally helped them in any way they could.

Suddenly rosaleen said about how sometimes she stands in the living room and cries for her son and wonders why it had to be him.
Well, yes, we can all sympathise with that.

She said that on one occasions she was feeling particularly sorrowful and was just sitting on her own in the living room thinking of sean when she had noticed a robin in the garden.She stared at it thinking how beautiful it was when suddenly it seemed to turn and look at her and then, quick as a flash, it flew off.
She didn't see it for a few days and really had forgotten all about it.

One sunday they were both doing the gardening when suddenly a robin flew down and landed on a tree they have in their garden.
It took her breath away, and she stood their staring at it as she remembered when she had seen it before.
She didn't say anything to bob and carried on doing the gardening and every now and then she would turn and look at the robin, watching its every movement, suddenly after about half an hour, it chirped, flapped it's wings, and flew off.

That night bob knew something was bothering Rosaleen and he asked her what was wrong. At first she was a little hesitant about telling him about this robin as she was worried bob would say that it was just a robin and that was that.

After a couple of hours they were sat in their living room having a well earned cup of tea when rosaleen just came out with the story about the robin.Bob, being bob, asked why she thought it was important that a robin had come into the garden, and she said she wasn't sure exactly but it wasn't the first time, and she had seen it before.
Days went on and no more was said.

On the friday of that week rosaleen had just finished work and was walking towards her front door when a robin flew over her head.
It made her jump because it came so close.
Thats when it hit her, she had seen this robin so many times, and on occasions it got quite close to them.
She looked at me and said:
"I swear thats sean."

Well, I sat there and I felt quite strange to be honest. I wasn't quite sure what to say. I asked her if she thought it possible to which she replied:
"Oh, I don't know, it's just strange that everytime I think of sean, this robin appears."

Where's the coincidence I hear you ask?

Well, there is a lovely lady called sheila who I have known for years. She comes to Asda first thing in the morning to collect her bit of shopping before going to work.
Sheila, who is in her fifties, came in one day looking particularly unwell, I asked her what was wrong and she said she had lost her husband suddenly a week before.

There was tears all around.

Now, I have never met her husband, but she told me he had cancer but he doing so well with the treatment, that the consultant had praised him only 2 weeks prior, saying just how well he had done and they were thinking of realising him from the hospital.

Although he would be an out-patient there was no need to keep him in anymore.

They were both delighted with this news.

Unfortunately, just after being released he died unexpectedly.

She was devastated.

A few weeks went by and she came in to Asda, always putting on a brave face but you could see that she just couldn't really come to terms with his death.

One day, she turned to me and asked me if she could tell me something that had happened, I ,of course, said yes.

I thought perhaps I could help her in some way.

She then went on to explain that since her husbands death they've had a robin in their garden every day. At first she took no notice of it but after a while she realised she was looking out of the window waiting for this robin to appear.

And it always did.

I saw her last week and I asked her about the robin, I think I was expecting her to say it had gone, but, no, it was still there.

In her back garden.

She swears that it is her husband come to see if shes o.k.

So you see, thats two people telling me about robins in their gardens, who they believe to be their loved ones.

I know a lot of people will say it is a coincidence and you see a lot of robins everyday and because of whats happened you put too much of an emphasis on it.

But, it just makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Last week geoff had his usual annual anti-flu jab.
He's now got a stinking cold.
So have I and the cat, Snowdrop.
Last friday geoff said how ill he felt, he was dizzy and hot and cold and kept sneezing. I reminded him that every year when he has his jab, he always feels ill for a few days afterwards.
On saturday he woke up and nearly blew the house down with his sneezing, and thats when we realised he had a cold. He was rough for the weekend but felt better by monday.
Or so we thought.
Monday night he went to bed and he didn't get up until wednesday.
Luckily tuesdays is my day off, so I could see to him. Geoff asked me to ring the doctors and check that it wasn't going to effect his heart problem,and also to ask if he could have some anti-biotics for his chest. I spoke to the doctor and he told me he wasn't happy giving geoff tablets without seeing him, well, geoff could not gte to the surgery that day as he was too ill.
The doctor did not offer to come out and see him.
Although geoff wasn't very happy with that, but as I said, it was just a cold, nothing too serious.
So, all day I made cups of tea and only cooked a little dinner for him tuesday night, as he wasn't very hungry, and believe you me, that must mean geoff is ill for he never gives up his food.
Tuesday night I went to bed and woke up wednesday morning, and felt dreadful!
I had picked it up, thanks geoff!!!
I rang in sick for that day and went back to work on thursday,as you can't have a lot of time of sick at Asda,but I was still feeling rough.
Everybody was asking me how I was, in particular Matt, who is new to Asda but we are really good friends and we have a good laugh.
When I got home, geoff sad he was worried about Snowdrop as she wasn't eating.She was also dribbling like mad from her mouth. I told him that she hadn't eaten a lot on wednesday but I admit I was too ill to worry too much about her.
We tried to feed her again, just to see what she did, and she sniffed it and walked away.
Well, you can't leave that alone, so a trip to the vet was in hand.
Getting her basket out of the cupboard I picked her up and of course, she struggled. She scratched me which made me jump, then she struggled and manage to jump out of my arms and she ran away.
She was gone for over an hour!!!
We ran the vets and explained and they told us to wait and see if she comes back, if she does, then just bring her down.
She did come back, very slowly, and a little on edge.
However, we did get her in her basket and took her down to the vet.
They were laughing when we got there, because, once you get Snowdrop in the basket, she is so docile!!! they couldn't believe she would react the way she did.
The vet examined her but couldn't really work out what was wrong, her temperature was a little higher than normal, but nothing to worry about.
The vet examined every inch of her to see whether she was in pain, but she didn't flinch, which meant she wasn't in any pain at all.
While we were there I sneezed a couple of times and apologised for doing so. So did geoff.
The vet then announced that she thought Snowdrop may have a bit of a cold herself!
This surprised us as she has her yearly injections for the cat flu etc.
The vet explained that she could still get a cold,and thankfully we brought her in straight away so they could deal with it quickly. She gave Snowdrop an antibiotic injection and gave us 10 tablets to give her twice daily for a week. She is making good progress now, and beginning to eat again.
That will clear everything up, she explained.
We laughed actually because as I said to geoff, that is exactly whats happened to him. He had his antiflu jab and still got a cold. He gave it to me and then gave it to Snowdrop.
So, what a week it's been.
All three of us bad and what about matt, you may ask.
You've guessed it:
I gave him my cold now!!!!
Well, theres nothing like share and share alike between friends, is there?