It's nearly five years since we moved in here. When we first viewed the house we were rather disappointed to find that the previous occupants had moved the bathroom into one of the bedrooms and had also painted a mural over the whole of one wall and the door!
We moved the bathroom back to where it belonged (actually we got a couple of men to do it!) and the bedroom became a dumping ground for several years while we slowly worked out what fitted into the new house and what needed to find a new home. Over those years if we finished painting elsewhere and still had spare paint on the brush we would paint the excess over the mural!
And then about two years ago, I had time and energy to start turning the dumping ground into a proper bedroom but was halted by an unknown problem with our boiler. The painting was done (slowly!) but no carpet could be put down as many water pipes ran under the floor. At the end of last year a new boiler was installed and at the beginning of this year a carpet was put down.
And yesterday pictures were hung! The room is finished at last. The main bedroom still has to be decorated - I wonder how long that will take! The photo below shows the wall underneath which is the dark mural! My eagle-eyed daughter can still see the outline of the trees and 'castle'!
And in case you are intrigued; the piece of furniture covered in an old green sheet is a zed-bed! Above the bed is an embroidered picture titled 'Fishing in fairy-land' made for me by my Mum when I was little and hung on my bedroom wall until the day I was married!
I forgot it was mine this morning! and was reminded when 'someone' started singing, "you're as old as me..ee, you're as old as me!" "Please don't remind me!"
I've got to that age when I cannot believe how many years I have lived!
I celebrated quite quietly, going out to coffee this morning and having my favourite meal at lunchtime - fish curry. As a child, our family didn't have the money to have parties but we were able to choose what we all ate for dinner and my choice was always cod curry. I think my Mum got the recipe from Philip Harben, who was a celebrity chef even before the days of Fanny Cradock! The rest of the day has been taken up with doing the washing, letter writing, answering emails and watching a bit of tele while knitting! Gone are the days of parties and big meals out, I enjoyed them but I think that in just a few ways I'm showing my age!
I can remember where I was when my previous photo on this blog was taken - in the back garden when I was visiting my new grandboy who was a week old - he is now three and a half! I also felt it was time for a new layout.
We usually have a quiet Christmas but this year the run up to Christmas was even quieter.
A bug has been going around our village with many people saying they have the flu - but those who have previously had the flu know that if you can get out of bed to pick up a twenty pound note outside - you have not got the flu!
I could get out of bed and could do a certain amount but having pushed myself to go to a conference at the end of November and instead spent the day in bed in a hotel room. I then knew I had to cancel everything and get better.
So I didn't go to the Book Club Christmas party, the Rural Churches Advent service, the village Christmas fair, the Coffee Club Christmas dinner or visit two grandboys. But my biggest disappointment was to miss the funeral of my cousin who died one day short of her 58th birthday from MS.
I last saw Judith seven years ago when I took my Mum up to mid Wales to meet with Judith and my Aunt. In her younger days Judith learnt to fly and when we met up was still able to drive but needed to use a wheelchair to get around as did my Mum. The four of us had a very giggly lunch together and then my Aunt in her 70's suggested that we had a race back to our cars but we did manage to control ourselves and push the wheelchairs and their occupants back in a respectful manner!
We are secure in the knowledge that Judith is now free from all pain, with her Dad and wonder if she can now fly without the aid of an aeroplane!
I met her in the summer
she was beautiful
Some said she knew it
Sarah was American
with long curly auburn hair.
I met him in the autumn
I called him, her beloved -
they talked of marriage.
Paul was American -
so handsome.
During the autumn months
we shared many moments.
Watching a fashion show video,
talked about we should wear,
Discussed the Last Temptation of Christ
Laughed together while dressing up
Exchanged ideas over meals.
How funny they were taking the mickey out of Jim and Tammy Baker.
They flew home for Christmas
They have been front page news for the last week.
They loved Jesus
They live on in my memories,
in my photograph album and on my video,
modelling and acting on a Christmas Celebration -
"Hello Jesus - Let me introduce myself"
written 29th December 1988
in 1963. I was still at school doing my 'O' levels. I had already taken maths and english in the fifth form (failing english!) but timetable was such that I was able to do most of my homework in spare periods which suited me just fine.
It was a great time, the Beatles were becoming very famous but it still took a few weeks for their singles to reach number one - after that they reached number one before anyone was able to buy the record one pre-release sales.
That week in November 'She loves you' was number two with Gerry and the Pacemakers 'You'll never walk alone' in the top slot. It went on to become the anthem of Liverpool football club.
Each year our church had a youth outreach weekend with events on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
I arrived at the church hall with my friend who noticed that one of the lads was leaning against the wall looking rather shell-shocked. She asked him what was wrong to be told the Kennedy had been shot - it was some time before we learnt that he had been killed instantly. But being youth, most of us were able to carry on and enjoy the evening.
During the week our family would sit down to dinner in the dining room but at weekends Mum would prepare a wonderful 'high' tea, served on the large coffee table while we would listen to the football results and then watch the TV. So I saw it; the very first Doctor Who and have been an avid follower, especially since it was re-born with Christopher Eccleston.
My favourite Doctors? its a difficult choice between the earlier Jon Pertwee and Peter Davidson but overall it has to be David Tennant.
That final year at school was the best of my school life, I was studying subjects that I enjoyed along with being able to sew in the evenings and I made friends with whom I have never lost touch but I will never forget that weekend.
Every so often in my life, I have stopped and thought about the things I'm doing and the things I want to do and realising that there are not 25 hours in each day and 8 days in each week and I need my sleep, something has to go.
The last time was back in 2009 when I stepped down from the Baptist Union Council and from being a member of the planning committee of 'Men Women and God'. This made way for my calling to be the minister of Zoar Baptist Chapel.
Way back, I was accused by my minister of never staying at one thing - but then I was a mother of two small boys and life for a mother as they grow up is constantly changing.
I have now told the folk at Zoar that I wish to cut back on the number of times I preach during the year. At the moment I 'do' the 1st and 3rd Sundays, taking holidays when it is a 'five Sunday' month. Next year, there will be some months when I only preach on the 1st Sunday, giving me a long break in which to walk the hills, finish decorating the house and do further research into the life of Mrs Spurgeon. I have nearly finished an article - it just needs a few tweeks - and hopefully it will be accepted for publication by the Baptist Quarterly.
I also wondered about pulling out from our village book club as it takes up a morning when I would otherwise be writing a sermon. But we had such a good time discussing The Richard Burton Diaries this morning that I have decided that it is too good to miss.
When I first arrived at this little chapel I was warned that it was like stepping back in time thirty years but I was quite happy with that. I use the pulpit, wear a dog collar on special occasions and we have a 'hymn sandwich' service. Thirty years ago at the suburban church I attended it was decided that we should no longer decorate the church and bring along our baskets of fruit and vegetables for the Harvest Festival - no-one seemed to want them afterwards - all the Old People's Homes were overwhelmed with so much produce from so many churches that they could not use. So we were asked to bring tins and if my memory serves me right - used tins with money inside!
Here at Zoar we still celebrate Harvest in a big way, especially as it is a farming community and this year the farmers are very happy, having had an excellent harvest.
Apologies for the quality of the photo - it has come to me via a pc onto my mac and gone blurry but there is corn and fruit and vegetables, bread, eggs, coal and salt along with flowers on every window sill.
After the service, flowers were sent to those unable to attend and the vegetables were taken to make soup, apples taken to make pies, other fruit to make fruit salad ready for our Harvest Lunch on Saturday. We have quite a reputation for our Harvest Lunch and others come from out-lying chapels and the Vicar comes from up the road and no-one will need to eat for the rest of the day after the four-course meal of soup, salad with ham and meat and/or a veggie quiche, dessert and cheese and biscuits, tea and coffee! The flowers and the remaining fruit and vegetables will be auctioned off with the proceeds going to the BMS (Baptist Missionary Society). There will be much fun and laughter.
