I've been mindful as the newscasts become more
disheartening, the job losses seem to be galloping ahead,
the "hot spots" around our world keep popping up in new
places....
that there are a couple of things that will help me, and you get through. This little picture I've added to today's blog is one positive influence in my life, and I pray in yours too that will help you to get through any tough days, anxious moments, even desperate situations when all about you might appear gloomy and hopeless. There are few people I've known in my life who can manage without BEST FRIENDS. Well, certainly for me I have some I would call best friends...who have been there for me...and allowed me to return that friendship. I am blessed. And you are blessed too when you can take time to reflect on friendships past and present and how, when things looked at their bleakest, that BEST FRIEND was at your side...cheering you on....offering you their hand to help you up when you fall...showing you how to laugh at yourself...crying with you when things are just too, too hard to handle...and because these things often go full circle...there will come a day when you can do the same for them. I won't even try to name names here in my blog. BEST FRIENDS will instantly recognize how special they are to me as they read this. So, for today I'm just recording here how much I have to be thankful for. May you always have BEST FRIENDS to share your life, with all its twists and turns and may you realize the double blessing when you can be that best friend too.

IT HAS BEEN TOO LONG!!!

I have had a rather busy month and my blog has been the casualty!

Almost a month ago I had a surprise message from my Canadian niece to say she was going to come for a visit and would arrive in a week's time!

This photo (to the left) is one of the things we did together at our daughter's home. We celebrated my niece's 56th birthday :-) !!

My niece arrived in Manchester and spent 3 and a half weeks here with us. After her jet lag subsided she was right into cleaning mode! She did me such a good turn, really she did. Anyone who knows Linda will realize she isn't one to sit still and looking at my kitchen units and tiles she realized they were overdue for a good scrub. And she was off!! (lol) I now have a sparkling bunch of kitchen units and backsplash of tiles underneath the wall units. She quickly discovered the cleaning properties of Bicarbonate of Soda.

This was a real gift to me as my agility is sorely tested these days and climbing up onto kitchen countertops to clean units and tiles was beyond me. What a fab job she did!

She has now returned home, warmly greeted by her family. She is jet-lagged once again but so happy to get home before the winter snows!

We are returning to "normal" here in our flat and noticing that the weather is turning much colder in the last couple of days. The newspapers are warning there could even be some snow this weekend....I wonder if we will escape that; it is normally what happens, shielded as we are by the Pennines and the Welsh hills.

Oh....and I have also stopped procrastinating and recorded my first video on YouTube! I hope there will be many more to come. I am rather intimidated by technical gadgets and haven't quite refined the art of vlogging. You might like to take a peek at my first effort? It's had a good lot of comments and a few subscribers...feels rather nice! :-)

I can only post a link here as I don't know how to post the actual video on here...sorry!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siKJ6sGJERc (the introductory photo frame is none too flattering I'm sorry to say...but it gets better when you watch the video....honest!)

That's all for today, folks!