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Showing posts from May, 2008

Sunday Scribblings

Curves. Women worry about them, Men admire them, And they make the world turn around. More curvaceous words here.

The weekend.

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Hope you all have a fun weekend. It's been a beautiful day here in North East England today, glorious sunshine . A great day for the garden which is exactly where I have been , a bit of planting and a bit of weeding. If you click on the photo you will see a giant size 'Mog' (not mine I hasten to add)!

Sky Watch

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This was taken in a wood near my home. Unfortunately the bluebells were past their best, so the colour wasn't so vivid. More photos here. Tom I do like the Moon Shadow.Great clarity. Click on photo to enlarge.

Three Word Wednesday

Three Word Wednesday.These are the words, Blurred. Illegal. Match. His vision was blurred, As he left the match ground, His driving illegal and dangerous, As he considered the score And wept. 3WW

Word filled Wednesday

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'If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me, and drink. John, 19, 34. courtesy of Catholic Traditon. Word filled Wednesday.

Booking through Thursday

Over on Booking through Thursday we are asked to consider the following, What is reading, anyway? Novels, comics, graphic novels, manga, e-books, audiobooks — which of these is reading these days? Are they all reading? Only some of them? What are your personal qualifications for something to be “reading” — why? If something isn’t reading, why not? Does it matter? Does it impact your desire to sample a source if you find out a premise you liked the sound of is in a format you don’t consider to be reading? Share your personal definition of reading, and how you came to have that stance. This is an interesting theme. When I was a child comics were classed as second rate for reading. At the boarding school I attended they were banned. Now my Mother was not so sure of this and so always bought me comics, in particular, 'Princess' comic and kept them for the holidays. This I loved to return home to a pile of comics! I did read books, but mostly at school. When my own girls were at sch

ABC Wednesday

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Over on Mrs. Nesbitts' place we are concentrating on photos of S objects. Today I took a photo of a Swaledale Sheep. These are a hardy breed, many found in the Swaledale area of North Yorkshire.Characteristics include round, curly horns,and a black face. As you can see it's lambs are growing and about six weeks old.

TODAY'S THE DAY!!!

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I don't have any plans, might just curl up with a good book for a while. What could be better! BTW got books as presents , which is great. Will share them with you later. Hope you all have a good day too.

Sunday Salon.

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This week's reading has found me with 'The Memory Keeper's Daughter' by Kim Edwards. I'm about halfway through this novel. It began in quite a dramatic way, with children being 'fostered' onto work colleagues and how the 'natural' parents respond to this, in fact how this action haunts them. I am into the story where 13 years have passed and all involved are trying to lead 'normal' lives. The lives of the two families run parallel in the book. At the moment I feel that it is a bit slow, imho . The paths of these people must 'cross' soon I feel, but I can't think what the outcome of this will be. I know this book has great reviews , so I hope I'm not disappointed.

Sunday Scribblings

On Sunday Scribblings the word we are asked to think about is 'quitting'. I have made a detour from what is asked, in the fact that I haven't given my personal 'take' on this , but have composed a few lines of 'nonsense', really. Hope this doesn't offend anyone. 'I was in a kind of quandary, My hands began to quiver, My stomach felt so queasy. I'd need to quantify, The relation of the quality, So there would be no query, And none should think to quibble. But there again for peace and quiet, I may resort to quitting!'

A Happy Weekend.

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Hope you all have a Happy Weekend. Click on photo of York to enlarge.

Weekend Wordsmith.

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Waiting. This is the word you are asked to incorporate into your writing. 'I'm waiting for the right one, To come and take my hand. The others have all been and gone, And now I understand. If Mr. Right is to come my way, I need a lot of patience, For him to be a little more, Than a passing acquaintance.' Check Bonnie's Blog for more wordyness!

15 Words or less.

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Here on Laura's blog she hosts 15 words or less. This week this forest scene is the theme. So here are my words --- Tall, trees ascending , Block the light. Darkness beckons The forest weaves it's air of magic.

Sky Watch

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Been fairly busy this week , no photos taken outside. So I'm putting up a beautiful shot taken in the Lake District last year.It was taken crossing Lake Windermere on a tourist ferry. Hope you like it. Check out wonderful photos here. Click on my photo to enlarge.

Booking through Thursday

The theme this week is 'Books and films both tell stories, but what we want from a book can be different from what we want from a movie. Is this true for you? If so, what’s the difference between a book and a movie?' In general I prefer the books. The film can often accompany the message that, 'it is based on the book', or 'adapted from the book'. In these instances I feel I'm being cheated, something is missing. Now this is the case of most books except Dickens. I find his work very hard going ,so I do watch the films where possible. The BBC's version of Bleak House is a film I enjoyed immensely but I know I'd never finish the book. Booking through Thursday

ABC Wednesday R

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Today we are up to the letter R.Here are some of my favourite R's. Check out more photos here.

Word filled Wednesday

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Photo courtesy of 160 Acres. 'And know that I am with you always;yes, to the end of time.' Matthew 28:20. Word filled Wednesday

3WW

The words on 3WW are- Focus. Delayed Edge. So here is my attempt, She sat so close to The edge of her seat, The train had been delayed. With temper increasingly frayed, She tried to focus on her book And blot out all the rest. If only she was back at home She would be truly blest.

Gracious Hospitality

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Click on photos to enlarge. This weeks theme on Gracious Hospitality is teapots. Any stories about them . I'm afraid I don't have anything wonderful to tell about mine. Although the teapot which sits in the cup is quite cute. The three 'historical' ones I know I've uploaded a few weeks ago but they are so nice I thought I'd give them another airing. Do check out 'Gracious Hospitality' there are some very interesting teapots on display.

Sunday Scribblings

Just found this blog and thought I'd give it a try. The word to be included is SOAR. The swallow soar ed above the house. It climbed and dipped in the clear, blue sky. An old lady sat in her garden admiring the view. Years before her husband had planted a small, climbing rose. On this sunny day the roses were beginning to group and sprout up the trellis.A lovely sight. Each year she watched them as the stems and branches grew longer and weaved their intricate path upward. Skyward. What an intriguing pattern they made. A horticultural spider's web. A lattice of loveliness.Her mind drifted back to the importance of the day.It was not an easy day. His anniversary.Memories of her husband's death loomed large.Her'best friend' was gone and she missed him more than ever. But it helped to keep busy and consequently she'd nurtured his climbing rose. The fruits of this work, this labour of love could be seen today.As the roses climbed upward and the swallow soar ed and dr

The Sunday Salon

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Well I've done quite a lot of reading this week. I finished 'The Revolt of the Eaglets' by Jean Plaidy, you can read my review here. So I've moved on to 'The Memory Keeper's Daughter' by Kim Edwards. I started this last night. I'm also tempted to begin, 'The Lady Chapel' by Candace Robb. I read another of her books ,'The Apothecary Rose' a few weeks ago which was a good read. As a follow on to this when I visited York last Monday I took a copy of the map from the book . It was interesting to be able to trace the book on the actual streets. Hope you all have a good week, happy reading.

Weekend Wordsmith

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Check out Bonnie's blog for details of this week's weekend wordsmith. Here's my attempt, A broken glass, a broken life? The glass had shattered, Sharp shards lay, Among her bed and clothes, This monster, this criminal, He'd trampled through her belongings And her life. She surveyed the scene and wept, Her tears were sharp as the broken glass, they stung and hurt, Now she pondered her reaction, And plotted her revenge...

A Relaxing Weekend.

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Courtesy of Free Digital Photos Hope you all have a relaxing weekend.

Gracious Hospitality--- Tea Rooms.

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Over on Gracious Hospitality we are asked to post our favourite tea rooms. The one I want to consider is 'Betty's'. There are tearooms by this company in Yorkshire ,they may be more but the one I have visited is in Harrogate. Unfortunately last time there I didn't have my camera with me. However, on my visit to York last Monday I snapped the tearoom there. The meals are delicious. As you can see from the photo there is a baker's shop attached to the cafe. Their cakes are wonderful. My mouth is watering as I type!

15 words or less.

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On Laura's blog she hosts a 15 words or less theme. A photo is put up every week and you are asked to write under 15 words to describe it. Above is this weeks photo.Here are my words--- 'These big, brown eyes, Cry out to me, Puppy love they seem to say.'

Sky Watch Friday

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Click on photo to enlarge and see detail. This is York Minster, taken on a beautiful day, last Monday to be exact. The architecture is magnificent. Check out Sky Watch here . There are some fantastic shots to view.

Book Review, 'Revolt of the Eaglets'.

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This novel is written by Jean Plaidy. Now if you can imagine 'Dallas' in the 1100's, this is it. Sons hate father, father hates sons . Mother seems to hate all except one son. There was everything in this book, murder, wars and crusades. The story takes through the life of Henry Plantagenet, his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine and his relationship with his eight children. As each son matures they each vie for their own place with their father. Through deceit and intrigue each son is put down but in doing so Henry's life is changed for ever. I highly recommend this novel. It is the 2nd. book in the Plantagenets' group. I'm on the look out for the rest now. BTW if anyone is as old as me(anyone?lol!)you may remember 'Richard the Lionheart' BBC t.v. series for children in 1950's. This book really brings those characters to life, although obviously the plots were tamed somewhat for children. I've read this book as part of my Spring Reading Challenge

Booking through Thursday

Here, on B.T.T. the discussion is about manuals,self help books and how-to books. Now when I do buy a new piece of equipment for the home or garden I do read the instructions. If I don't I'm completely lost, I don't have a mechanical mind at all. Manuals are another matter, I can't say I read any. However, a self help book on gardening is a favourite of mine and one which I return to often.

Recipe Round up.

It's not too late to join in the recipe round up over at Ann's blog. The idea is that we post about recipes from around the world, close at home or far away it doesn't matter. The closing date is 15th May at midnight, so get hunting through those cookery books. Do check out the link above for more details. My recipe is for Yorkshire Cheese Tart. 6ozs. short crust pastry. Filling: 8ozs. cottage/curd cheese. 2ozs.sugar. 2ozs. currants. 1 medium egg. 1 and a half ozs. melted maergarine. pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg. Method. 1. Heat oven to 220C /425F, gas mark 7. 2. Roll pastry out thinly. 3.Line a 7 inch flan tin, and bake 'blind' for 10 mins. 4. Mix filling together and fill flan . 5. Bake for 20-25 mins. Bon Appetit!

3WW

Her neck was pretty average, As on the block she laid The axeman called, 'There's not a scratch Upon my well honed blade.' I really must stop reading all those historical novels, the 'block' is getting too familiar!!!(lol) Check out 3 word Wednesday here

Comparing Authors.

Over on John's blog he is comparing different authors. You are asked to vote between Charlotte Bronte and Margaret Laurence this week. Charlotte won the vote last week being compared to her sisters, Anne and Emily. Today I've voted for one of my all time favourites, Charlotte Bronte. Check it out.

ABC Wednesday Q.

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Click on photo to enlarge. Now I thought Q was going to be difficult until I checked the farmyard and there 'she' was ,all grubby and dirty as usual. The 'Farmers' Friend'!!! A wonderful addition to any farmer's machinery. ABC Wednesday is here

Word filled Wednesday

'Be still and see the salvation of the Lord'. Exodus14:13. How hard is this in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Silence is something that we miss in our society imho. Something I should work on. Word filled Wednesday is here

City of York.

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Yesterday my family(minus one daughter who wasn't on holiday, sorry sweetheart!)all visited York. It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the 70's. It is a splendid city with many attractions. Unfortunately we were only there for a few hours so we concentrated on The Minster. This is the largest Gothic building in northern Europe . It dates from 1220 and took 252 years to complete. It is hard to credit how it was built in those days without the expertise of our modern equipment. You can climb the central tower for amazing views of the city but unfortunately our timetable wouldn't allow this. We don't live too far away so I feel another visit will be in the offing. I hope you enjoy the pics. It is well worth a visit. A few weeks ago I reviewed the book The Apothecary Rose, by Candace Robb. This was set in York . I took a copy of the book's medieval map with me and was pleased to trace some of the streets. The book was obviously well researched.

Weekly Geeks

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Over on Dewey's blog the theme this week is to write about our childhood books. Now I have a confession to make apart from the usual 'Famous Five', 'Secret Seven' (Enid Blyton)and 'Ballet Shoes'(Noel Streatfield) 'Noddy in Toyland',I can't remember a lot of reading. You must excuse me as we are talking a long, long time ago, lol! What I do remember are the books I began to read as a teenager (around 17-18 yrs.)So these are the books that I became addicted to in those years, and this addiction has stayed with me to this day. There is evidence of this in an earlier post(dated 11th. May) When I started my nursing career at 17yrs. one of my colleagues introduced me to Jean Plaidy and in particular, 'Murder Most Royal,' 'The Captive Queen of Scots' 'The Sixth Wife' 'St. Thomas' Eve' and then as Victoria Holt, 'The Curse of the Kings' 'On the Night of the seventh moon'. I found these books great reads

The Sunday Salon.

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Hello everyone. I can't believe another week has gone by. The weather her in the U.K. has been wonderful so a lot of my time has been spent in the garden. Not all reading time unfortunately , but weeding and planting a few flowers. However, on the reading front I've started a new Jean Plaidy(by new I mean one that I haven't read, years ago I read lots of hers). This one is the 'The Revolt of the Eaglets'. It is a novel of the life of Henry Plantagenet. The opening chapters centre around his life with wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine. The year is 1171 and Thomas a Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury has been murdered. Henry's men are accused of the murder. On the 'home' front Henry's children are beginning to revolt against him (hence the title)and his wife is anything but a loving spouse. I think this has the makings of a good read. In the past, the Jean Plaidy's I've read have not included the Plantagenet's so this is new territory for me.I&#

Weekend Wordsmith.

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On Bonnie's blog can be found Weekend Wordsmith here. Each weekend a new prompt is given. The idea is that you write a little to incorporate the prompt.So here is my post. FRAMED. Her life was like a painting, With colours depicting her mood, Daily chores were so very limiting, As through the hours she viewed; The World. From a place that she had claimed, Within a painting framed.

Sky Watch Friday May 9th.

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A beautiful day merges into a beautiful night. Click on photo to enlarge. Check out Sky Watch here.

Booking through Thursday.

This week on BTT we are asked to discuss which grammar books and dictionaries, etc. we read. Well I have a couple of large dictionaries and a school thesaurus(from my children). These are really kept as essentials, but other than that I have no grammar books. Sometimes I feel that a good, comprehensive thesaurus would be useful but up to now never bought one.

3WW

Cautious. Human . Maybe. These are the 3 words for this week. So here goes, I am a cautious human, Not the type to 'jump right in', I ponder long on what 'maybe', And then I think again. For this is just my nature And so I must accept That 'maybe' is a part of me, And doubts are being well- kept. You can join in 3WW here

Word filled Wednesday

"Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:3 I often need to remind myself to offer up my everyday tasks. I can get so distracted and then my work is put on the 'back burner', I will try and keep this verse in my head. Find inspiration over on 160 acres.

ABC Wednesday

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This week it is the letter P.So here is my photo. Check this out over on Mrs. Nesbitts.

Good company+good food=

Good morning all, today is the first working day of the week for many people here in U.K. Yesterday was May day bank holiday. What a good day it was, warm weather and good friends made it a special. Last night we were invited to a church BBQ. This was great fun with good conversation and lovely food;steak, burgers, sausages and wine. It was good to meetup with friends and we hope to get together again before too long. Hope you all have a good day.

The Sunday Salon.

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This week reading has been a struggle.I started My Heart is my Own last weekend, here is my post from then. I feel stuck with it. I'm so used to reading historical fiction that this book(a biography) is becoming a real challenge. I've felt like giving up a few times during the week.A book without dialogue seems so dry. I know I will regret it if I give in so I'll give it a few more days. In the book Mary, Queen of Scots has just married the Dauphin after spending a good many years in the French court.I am such a wimp I know, but it probably will go to the back of the bookcase.

Weekly Geeks # 2

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Over on Dewey's blog this weeks geek's challenge is ---------- If any other bloggers have reviewed any of the books listed below they can send me the link to their review and I will add their link to mine. This is explained in more detail on Dewey's blog and here in Darla's blog Check them out.I hope you'll join me in this . The Thirteenth Tale The Apothecary Rose The Poisoner of Ptah Revelation

Gracious Hospitality.

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April 27 - May 3 The White, Green, Black, and Herb of Tea Tell about your favorite tea. How do you prepare it and serve it? Milk and sugar? Plain? What are some of your best memories of serving or sipping on this tea? Share a picture if you can. Tell the health benefits of the tea(s) you prefer. Where do you purchase your tea? Is there someplace you enjoying purchasing tea from? Who from and where? So that is the theme for this week. Now the only tea I drink (apart from the generic kind )is this Camomile, Vanilla and Honey. It is widely available in shops here in the U.K. I drink it neat, by that I mean with no milk, or sugar. I really like this it has a great calming, soothing effect and I think it helps me sleep. It's very relaxing if you've had a stressful day. Give it a try! Check it out here.

Sky Watch

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This is my first photo in Sky watch. It was taken last night in North east England. Colours are wonderful, although I don't think my camera does it justice. Click on the photo to enlarge. Sky Watch

Weekly Geeks

This is the weekly geeks task this week. This week is Discover New Blogs Week! 1. Look through the list of blogs on the Mr Linky below and see if you can find five that are new to you. If you can’t, find as many new blogs as possible and then some you don’t read super regularly. 2. Visit those new blogs. A comment would be nice; people like comments. 3. When you’re ready, at some point by Friday if you want to be included in the blurbs next week, write a post in your blog featuring those new blogs you visited. 4. Don’t forget to come back here and leave a link to your post, so that I can get it into the blurbs! I hope this will be a fun way for us to get to know our fellow participants. Here are my new bloggers ------ Chris On Chris' blog there is an excellent review of 'Daphne' by Justine Picardie. A book I am determined to read . She also has some photos of cute cats. Samantha Here on Samantha's blog she's joining me in the mini Bronte challenge. Somer Somer puts

Three Word Wednesday (onThursday)

3WW LXXXIV Empty Highway Ignored These are this weeks words. The idea is to write a few lines incorporating them. He missed the sign, And ignored the signal in his head, 'There is something wrong' The highway shouldn't be empty. All too soon he arrived at the edge of the water, And the sign, 'HIGHWAY FLOODED'. 3WW

Booking through Thursday.

Quick! It’s an emergency! You just got an urgent call about a family emergency and had to rush to the airport with barely time to grab your wallet and your passport. But now, you’re stuck at the airport with nothing to read. What do you do?? And, no, you did NOT have time to grab your bookbag, or the book next to your bed. You were . . . grocery shopping when you got the call and have nothing with you but your wallet and your passport (which you fortuitously brought with you in case they asked for ID in the ethnic food aisle). This is hypothetical, remember…. Well that's the plot for today. Now as anyone who knows mw knows that I can't resist a book shop. So I think I would probably buy a book in the Airport shop. In a perfect world I'd just buy a newspaper or a puzzle book but I don't live in a perfect world. So a book it is, to join the hundreds that I already own! Booking through Thursday
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Maytime. Winter is many months of the year But now at last Maytime is here; And birds sing from a leafy screen In the trees and hedgerow freshly green; And the wood-anemone is out in the shade, With its blushing petals which too soon fade; Once more the bracken is unfurling there, And bluebells gently perfume the damp air. - Veronica Ann Twells, Maytime. Poetry